Improving Customer Service Essay - 3436 Words

Running head: IMPROVING CUSTOMER SERVICE BAKER COLLEGE CENTER FOR GRADUATE STUDIES On-Line Masters of Business Administration Assignment for course: BUS 576 Training and Development Submitted to: April Flanagan Submitted by: Chieoma Shabazz Location of Course: On-Line Date of Course Meeting: December 11, 2006 Date of Submission: December 11, 2006 Title of Assignment: Improving Customer Service Certification of Authorship: I certify that I am the author of this paper and that any assistance I received in its preparation is fully acknowledged and disclosed in the paper. I have also cited any sources from which I used data, ideas or words, either quoted directly or paraphrased. I also certify that this paper was prepared†¦show more content†¦All training, with the exception of management leadership classes, is conducted by an in-house training department. Members of this department have been employed by the agency 15 or more years and are therefore, extremely equipped with technical knowledge of job tasks. Problem Although agency employees are provided with extensive information concerning procedures for processing unemployment insurance claims and for assisting employers and claimants with job placements, many complaints are received on a weekly basis concerning unsatisfactory customer service and customer service training is not presently being offered by the agency. A large number of received complaints are centered around staff member attitudes and claimants being excessively transferred to various people when calling in with questions. It seems that either staff members are not able to answer questions appropriately or the switchboard operators are routing calls to inappropriate workers. As seen in Handout 1, acts of this nature are included in the top causes of customer dissatisfaction. Also, due to state budget freezes, many offices are understaffed which leads to remaining staff members having to take on multiple roles. Taking on multiple roles will create the atmosphere of being overworked and underpaid, which ignites angry staff members who become inpatient with and sometimes intolerant of customer needs and requests. Handout 2Show MoreRelatedSample Resume : Improving Customer Service1075 Words   |  5 Pages Improving Customer Service Lamont Worrell DeVry University November 13, 2015 It s universally acknowledged that a great customer experience is one of the best ways to ensure that customers become repeat customers and this is often the goal of most organization. Long repeat customers will imply the distinction between a thriving business and one getting ready to go under, thus understanding the worth of client expertiseRead MoreImproving Customer Service Essay example557 Words   |  3 PagesImproving Customer Service There are many methods in Asda can improve there Customer service. Nowadays every Supermarket has there own way of saying Thank you to the customer this then shows the customer that they are respected and the are wanted back and they are welcome to shop at your supermarket as long as they like. Here are some of the methods that can be used to improve the Customer service at Asda: 1. Free Gifts 2. Loyalty Cards 3. BOG OFRead MoreImproving Customer Service Quality in3454 Words   |  14 PagesINSTITUTE OF SOCIAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ECONOMICS Master Research Proposal Improving Customer Service Quality in 4-5 Star Hotels in North Cyprus Student Name - Asif HUSSAIN Supervisor Prof. Dr. ERDAL TURKAN Email: asif_del04@yahoo.com Address:13,Kucuk Medrese sokak Lefkosa 27-01-2011 1. Title: Improving customer service quality in 4-5 Star Hotels in North Cyprus 2. Background This research will focus on an additiveRead MoreCustomer Contribution to Improving Service Quality in the Hospitality Industry5193 Words   |  21 PagesQuality Management in Services Drago Constantin Vasile The Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, Romania E-mail: dragoscv@gmail.com Abstract The actors on the today business stage have no more well-defined roles with clear and rigid borders between them. Hospitality industry in particular is a good example how it has been blurred the roles that customers play in dealing with service providers. The study reveals that customers can influence the quality of hospitality service through performingRead MoreE Mail Marketing : The Most Important Tool For Improving Customer Service, Engaging Customers, And Advertising1627 Words   |  7 Pagesthe most important tool for increasing sales. Correspondingly, websites were also cited as the primary tool for improving customer service, engaging customers, and advertising (Taiminen Karjaluoto, 2015). SEO was rated as the second most important tool for achieving growth in sales and advertising. Lastly, e-mail marketing was regarded as the most important tool for dialogical customer communication, while social media was perceived as more of a tool for content distribution. All of the companiesRead MoreStrategic Plan and Recommendations for Improving Customer Service Performance with Effective Technology Management821 Words   |  3 PagesStrategic Plan and Recommendations for Improving Customer Service Performance With More Effective Technology Management The one area of any organization that most shows a lack of coordination and effective use of information technologies (IT) in general and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) specifically is customer service. As the team of 25 customer service agents struggle to get value from the installed IT and CRM systems, customer satisfaction suffers. The intent of this analysis is toRead MoreNike Strategic Plan1034 Words   |  5 PagesDefinition of the Problem How can Nike continue to increase their sales and profitability, not only here in the U.S. but around the world? Nike also needs to improve their public image as well as their customer service to continue to be competitive in the apparel industry. Possible Action Alternatives 1) Continue expansion into global markets where competitors have been successful. There are huge opportunities for Nike to grow across multiple dimensions in terms of international expansionRead MoreCustomer Service At Apple, Inc.966 Words   |  4 PagesBSC and Customer Service Perspective The balanced Scorecard, BSC has been instrumental in driving the performance of organizations thereby transforming the strategic objectives into a set of performance measures as noted by Kaplan and Norton (2005). As such, Apple, Inc. designs and designs technology and electronics to suit consumer needs and meet shareholder objectives that has led to the success of the company and cemented it as a market leader in the industry. The Customer Service PerspectiveRead MoreKfc Service Quality925 Words   |  4 PagesLITERATURE REVIEW SERVICE QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN KFC CHAINSTORES The purpose of this study is investigating the service quality of KFC chain stores and how the service quality affect customer satisfaction based on the theory of â€Å"service quality† and â€Å"customer satisfaction† and the Customer satisfaction survey in website: talktokfc.com. We do the literature reviewson some important concepts to make clearer about the service quality and the level of customer satisfaction in KFC chainRead MoreNike Crm971 Words   |  4 Pagesnowadays business world, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is an essential for a business strategy for every company. Our chosen company is Nike, one of the largest supplier of sportswear which include shoes and apparel. Implementation of CRM programme is a essential for every successful company. Customer Relationship Management is the core business strategy that integrates internal processes and functions and external networks, to create and deliver value to targeted customer at a profit. It is

My Autobiography Of Myself As A Writer - 1417 Words

My Autobiography of Myself as A Writer Coming back to school after a ten-year break was the best choice I made. When I started this English 102 class with Dr. Brockman, I didn’t feel that I was a great writer. I knew I had so much to stay; the struggle was putting in on paper. I knew that regardless of how hard this class was for me, I was going to see it through. I produced 3 major papers to this class. My First paper was on Advertising titled Off with Her Head; My second paper was written on Panopticism titled Heaven or Hell? My third paper was a research paper of my choice; I chose to write on Educational Success for Hispanic Students. After my first paper was submitted on to blackboard on Advertising, I felt good about my writing. After evaluating my writing in my portfolio, I had to answer these questions: If I had more time to change my writing what would I change? What was my favorite piece of writing? and What was my least favorite piece of writing? If I had more time to change my writing, I would definitely ask for help understanding the assignment. I would change my research paper topic. My favorite piece of writing was Heaven or Hell? I enjoyed this piece of writing; I had a good understanding of Panopticism by Michael Foucault. I was able to relate it back to my life. With a clear understanding, I was able to show my understating in my writing. My least favorite piece of writing was the research paper. Although, I was very interested in the topic theShow MoreRelatedHow Do I Learn Write? Essay987 Words   |  4 Pagesboth. So, how does one learn to write? The best, most concise, writers develop from avid readers. Through reading, I am always learning how to write. I believe reading is essentially the foundation of learning to write. With active reading skills I can not only get better at writing, but have the power to excel with my writing experience through different styles of writing. Once I learn to write well in one style, I can then challenge myself to read different styles of literature. Aside from throughRead MoreHow Do I Learn Write?891 Words   |  4 Pages So, how does one learn to write? The best, most concise, writers develop from avid readers. Through reading, we are always learning how to write. I believe reading is essentially the foundation of learning to write. With active reading skills I can not only get better at writing, but have the power to excel with my writing experience through different styles of writing. Once I learn to write well in one style, I can then challenge myself to read different styles of literature. Aside from throughRead MoreEnglish 101 Made Me a Better Writer761 Words   |  3 Pagesattempt to improve to obtain their goal by studying the subject their goal is in. In my English class, English 101 this quarter I was astonished by how much I had progressed as a writer sharpening my writing skills and also learned a lot about writing that I hadn’t learned before. In my writing portfolio for this quarter I had to write an autobiography essay, a research essay, and this reflection essay to develop my writing skills better. The writing assignments were fun to do because it challengedRead MoreR eflective Essay Reflection746 Words   |  3 Pageswriting wasn’t my strongest suit throughout my academic career, it was challenging for me. Going through my first college class, which was English 101, I realized that writing is more than just putting words on paper. I have learned the purpose of writing and the structure to make a solid concrete essay such as to create the thesis statement to acknowledge what the reader is going to read and a technique to help edit and limit word, together with discovering a connection with myself in writing. AnRead MoreMy Experience As A Reader And Writer919 Words   |  4 PagesAs a reader and writer I always faced given assignments with the intent of doing exceptional jobs and take a sense of pride in my work to complete my tasks. As a reader, I will bore myself through out an entire book and realize I didn t understand a single thing. Although as a writer, I can go on for so long losing myself on a topic because it feels more interactive. Reflecting on my experiences as a reader and writer have been very bold, I never really found a joy or an interest to become theRead MoreAnalysis and Response: Black Boy Essay888 Words   |  4 PagesThe book Black Boy by Richard Wright is an autobiography set in the Deep South in the early 1900’s. The book starts with Richard being four years old and very mischievous. One day he is playing with fire and accidentally lights the curtains on fire. The house is suddenly in flames and Richard runs out to hide under the burning house. Luckily, h is stepfather runs out and finds him before the house collapses. The next years of his life are spent bouncing around from place to place trying to liveRead MoreSemiautobiographical Work- Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria Anzaldà ºa1286 Words   |  6 PagesEvery writer has the ability to make their writing remarkable, beautiful, and complex by using elements like genre, discourse, and code. Borderlands/ La Frontera: The New Mestiza is a semi-autobiographical work by Gloria Anzaldà ºa. She examines the relations of her lands, languages, and herself overall. She defines the borders she has around herself in the preface of the book: â€Å"The actual physical borderland that I’m dealing with in this book is the Texas-U.S. Southwest/Mexican border. The psychologicalRead MoreThe Internet Is The Main Source For Information And Education986 Words   |  4 Pageshad a grip on my writing and I had to do something about it. 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International Accounting Determination of Currency Level

Question: Write about theInternational Accountingfor Determination of Currency Level. Answer: Determination of Currency Level by Central Bank If the economy of a nation is considered as the human body, then the central bank must be considered as the heart of the body. The central bank controls the level of money into the economy of a nation to maintain the growth and health of the nation. The manner in which the central bank controls the level of money depends on the economic power and situation of the central bank. The amounts of money that are circulating in the economy of a nation have an impact on both macro and micro economic trends. The level of money that are issued by the central bank have an impact on the car loans, personal loans and home mortgages (Gal and Gambetti 2015). The central bank controls the money through the following: Print more money As the economy is not pegged to any gold standard, the Central bank can simply increase the quantity of money by printing it. They have the ability to print the money as much as they want though there is some negative impact of this. Just printing more money has no impact on the production or output levels and the money itself becomes valueless. Further, it can lead to inflation and therefore, it is not the preferable option for the bank (Krugman 2014). Set the requirement for reserve the basic method that is used by all the central banks are to control the amount of money in the economy for the requirement of reserve. As per the rule, the central banks require the depository institutions to deposit a particular amount of money as the reserve amount against the all transaction accounts. When more money is circulated by the bank then the requirement of reserve is reduced. That means the bank is in a position to lend more amount of money. On the contrary, if it wants to reduce the level of money, it has the option of increasing the requirement of reserve and the bank will have less amount of money for the purpose of lending which in turn, will increase the rate of interest (Lee 2014). Influence the rate of interest in most the instances the central bank directly cannot set the rate of interest for the loans like car loans, mortgage loans and personal loans. However, in certain manner they can push the rate of interest to the level of desire. For instance, they can set the rate through setting the borrowing rates of commercial banks from the central bank. The rate at which the commercial banks can borrow the loan from central bank will have direct impact on their lending rate and thereby will control the amount of money that is circulated in the economy (McKinnon and Schnabl 2014). Engage in the operation of open market central bank can influence the amount of money through selling or buying the government securities by engaging in the operation of open market. When the bank wants to increase the amount of money, it buys the government securities from the commercial banks. These make the asset of the bank free as they now have more amount to lend and the vice versa is done when the bank intends to reduce the level of money in the economy. Introduce the Quantitative Easing Programme under the programme of Quantitative easing, the Central bank can generate money and utilise it to purchase the securities and assets like government bonds. This money will enter the banking system as the money is received as the payment for the assets that are bought by central bank. In turn, the reserves of the bank will enhance and that will encourage the bank to lend more money, which in turn, will reduce the rate of long-term interest and will encourage for investment. Actions taken by Central Bank of Australia The central bank tries its best to maintain a healthy economy. The way in which it does this is through controlling the quantity of money in circulation. This is done through influencing the rate of interest, setting-up the requirements of reserve and engaging itself into the operation of open market. For assuring the sustainable and healthy economy, it is important to have the control on the right amount of money under circulation (Del Negro and Sims 2015). Although the experts are predicting that Reserve Bank will keep their interest rate on hold, there is a possibility on the hike of the rate. The official cash rate of the RBA has been put on hold at the rate of 1.50% as it dropped at lowest during August 2016. The RBA utilises it as the instrument for the monetary policy, and will increase the cash rate through the operation in financial market (Burnside, Eichenbaum and Rebelo 2016). Impact on Stock Market Falling of interest rate does not have any direct impact on the stock market, it just change the psychology of the people. When the interest rate falls, the people starts spending more and this will enhance the earnings and thereby the stock price will rise and the market jumps with happiness. Therefore, though the relationship among the stock market and interest rate is indirect, they have a tendency to move in opposite directions (Asekome and Agbonkhese 2015). Impact on House Prices and Investor Loan When the interest rates are low, more people will be able to afford building and thereby will increase the jobs related to construction. This is the ideal outcome for the RBA when they are reducing the rates. Further, the reduced rates not only enable the people to borrow more, it will assist the people to renovate their existing houses. Moreover, the lower rate of interest will make the debt more attractive and influence them to invest more as the repayment of the amount becomes smaller. The reduced rate of interest will force the people to look for non-cash investments. These non-cash investments include share market, housing market and investment property (Ali, Barrdear, Clews and Southgate 2014). Reference Ali, R., Barrdear, J., Clews, R. and Southgate, J., 2014. The economics of digital currencies. Asekome, M.O. and Agbonkhese, A.O., 2015. Macroeconomic Variables, Stock Market Bubble, Meltdown and Recovery: Evidence from Nigeria.Journal of Finance,3(2), pp.25-34. Burnside, C., Eichenbaum, M. and Rebelo, S., 2016. Currency crises models. InBanking Crises(pp. 79-83). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Del Negro, M. and Sims, C.A., 2015. When does a central bank? s balance sheet require fiscal support?.Journal of Monetary Economics,73, pp.1-19. Gal, J. and Gambetti, L., 2015. The effects of monetary policy on stock market bubbles: Some evidence.American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics,7(1), pp.233-257. Krugman, P., 2014. Currency regimes, capital flows, and crises.IMF Economic Review,62(4), pp.470-493. Lee, J.W., 2014. Will the Renminbi Emerge as an International Reserve Currency?.The World Economy,37(1), pp.42-62. McKinnon, R. and Schnabl, G., 2014. China's exchange rate and financial repression: The conflicted emergence of the RMB as an international currency.China World Economy,22(3), pp.1-35.

International business Essay Example For Students

International business Essay Protectionism in the global economy The global economy has seen a dramatic increase in services trade between countries. The regulation and monitoring of service trade between countries has become much harder. As highlighted by Johnson, trading in services was the fastest growing constituent of global trade during the 80s and 90s. Cross border transactions include anything from banking to software. When services are offered to another country, the provider has to interact with the customer through either, cross border communications, movement of the provider or the consumer moving to the suppliers state of residence. Technology has made international trade much easier and more feasible; this has lead countries to boost services being exported to other countries. IT has decreased the cost of communication between countries. As a result it has made it more feasible for businesses to introduce new products and modify services abroad. This spark in global trade of services has its downfalls. The liberalization of services goes against certain countries development strategies. Areas like health and education needs the provisional planning of governments. The interference from abroad has hindered the governments strategic planning with respect to these services. This takes us to the importance of regulating services coming in from abroad through protectionism. Regulations on services can be a burden on service providers which can consequently weaken the liberalization of trade. Misunderstandings between states on the basis of protectionism range from cultural justification to the preservation of the states protection to its own public services. A good example can be telecommunication services, which are regulated by some governments. This has been a burden on the service market, and organizations like the WTO has tried to interfere with some countries policies in order to reform domestic telecommunications and lift protection efforts. On the other hand, when we speak of services in general, there are several ways of implementing forms of protection on services coming in, such as, Quotas and Prohibitions: This form of protectionism imposes a quota on the service provider. Protection methods like this are most likely put on service monopolies which can affect the domestic economy. There are also prohibitions in some countries because some service providers may provide services harmful to the countries moral and cultural values. Such services like the internet need to be regulated by the government because of the pornographic content which can be found online. Price Based Instruments: Some monopolies may charge or implement unfair prices to consumers, this can also affect the country when there are unfair prices. The state can then interfere and control high prices set by companies. The state will try to ensure that services can be used by most people at an affordable price. Standards and Licensing: Service providers looking to set up at some countries may need to present a certain level of standards. This highlights the importance of high image and good services which are going to be given to the general public. Companies must also meet minimum legal requirements issued by the government. Some forms of licensing can be very controversial and discriminatory. A good example would be the restriction of entry to professional services like tourism, which favours domestic service providers. These regulations can stop service providers from coming in due to the nature of the service. The General Agreement on trade in services The Uruguay round had come to create a spectacular achievement the liberalization of trade in services, the GATS has stressed on the creation of a system that governs international trade rules. Its been built on the same skeleton as the GATT has, and involves all participants which have agreed to these following rules, The Giver EssayMalaysia Chief Products: Agriculture rubber, oil palm, rice, coconuts, copra, sago, cassava, corn, spices, hemp, tobacco, fruits, vegetables, and livestock. Manufactured palm oil, coconut oil, processed rubber, smelted tin, refined petroleum and petroleum products, forestry products, processed food, steel, tobacco products, textiles, television sets, motor vehicles, and handicrafts. Major Exports: Electronics and electric machinery, petroleum and LNG, textiles, clothing and footwear, palm oil, and saw timber. Major Imports: Manufacturing inputs, machinery and transport, equipment, and metal products. Malaysias leading exports are mostly in the electrical and electronics industry. The country is rich in resources, and its economy is developing rapidly. Malaysia is the worlds largest exporter of palm oil. Myanmar Chief Products: Agriculture rice, sugarcane, sesame, peanuts, peas, beans, spices, fruits, and coconuts. Manufactured processed foods, lumber, refined petroleum, textiles, .

Forks vs. spoons free essay sample

Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity. Have you ever heard people talk about the things they would do if they won the lottery, and yet a large percentage of these people never go out and buy a ticket. These people have exactly a zero chance of winning, while the ones who went out and bought a ticket have a chance, albeit slim, at becoming lucky. This is the scenario that came to mind when I first read the quote Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.However, the more I thought about the quote, the more I realized how easily this could be applied to many real life situations. The author of this quote is trying to tell the readers that preparing yourself for opportunity is the key to being lucky, or successful. In order to prepare yourself for success, there are certain steps that must take place. We will write a custom essay sample on Forks vs. spoons or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page First, you have to believe in yourself. You must believe that you can pick the lucky numbers, or you must believe that you are capable f competing in, lets say a marathon. Second, you have to set goals for yourself. In the case of the lottery its pretty easy; Goal #1, buy ticket. Goal #2, wait. In the marathon scenario, much like most other scenarios, Its a little more complicated. You must train both physically and mentally, and make many sacrifices along the way. Finally, you must be optimistic about the result you achieve. In the case of the lottery player, they probably didnt win. But at least they can try again in a few days, right?The marathon runner may not have won the race. He might have even come In last place. Regardless of the outcome, he can still say he was able to compete In, and finish a marathon, in addition to the strength and discipline he learned along the way. I personally agree with the message that this quote Is trying to send out. It Is important to know that the only thing keeping you from achieving your goals Is yourself. Once you realize this, there Is no limit to how far you can go In life.

Seduce, Seduction and Seductive

Seduce, Seduction and Seductive Seduce, Seduction and Seductive Seduce, Seduction and Seductive By Maeve Maddox Wording in an astrological meme I saw on Facebook prompted this post: People born under the sign of Cancer are very observing. They are very seducing and captivating. I thought it odd to use seducing and not seductive in this context. (I was also bothered by the use of observing instead of observant, but that’s another post.) Seduce The most common meaning of seduce in modern usage is probably this one: seduce: To induce a woman to surrender her chastity. In the 16th century, the meaning of seduce was â€Å"to persuade a vassal or soldier or other sworn follower to desert his allegiance or service.† The sexual meaning came along in the 18th century. Seduce is used in a non-sexual sense to mean â€Å"to tempt† or â€Å"to lead astray†: Those brightly coloured palettes  of lipsticks are put at the front of  displays to seduce you into  buying  more.   People are seduced into evil by dehumanizing and labeling others. The principal parts of the verb are seduce, seduced, (have) seduced. The present participle form seducing is used as a verb or a gerund: The earl’s footman was seducing the kitchen maid. (verb used to form the past continuous tense) Don Juan had a reputation for seducing women. (gerund, object of a preposition) Seductive Although seducing was occasionally used as if it were cognate with French seduisant (â€Å"alluring, very attractive†), that meaning in English is conveyed by the adjective seductive. For example, â€Å"Sophia Loren is one of the most beautiful and seductive women in the world.† Like the verb seduce, the adjective seductive is not limited to a sexual connotation. Anything that evokes a strong emotional attraction can be said to be seductive: Tips for Creating a  Seductive  Email  Campaign Cameron’s ‘them and us’ message is a seductive one The seductive appeal of cultural stereotypes The disenfranchised  elements of society are highly vulnerable to the  seductive appeal  of intolerant belief systems. Seducing Used as a qualifier, the participle seducing means, â€Å"tempting to evil† or â€Å"corrupting†: Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.- 1 Timothy 4:1. Freud notes that the abrogation by nations of their moral ties has a seducing influence on the morality of individuals. When I did a web search for the phrase â€Å"very seducing,† I found it predominantly in descriptions of sexually explicit videos. I suppose the purveyors of prurient videos think â€Å"seducing† means sexy, unaware that they’ve stumbled upon a more apt description of their wares. Bottom line: seductive (adjective): sexy, tempting. seducing (adjective): tempting to evil, corrupting. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Homograph ExamplesPeace of Mind and A Piece of One's MindWhat is an Anagram?

The Effect of Technology on Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Effect of Technology on Education - Essay Example The adoption of technology in education is capable of giving opportunity to the students to develop their thoughts according to the education offered. Before 2nd world war the American Business men used to appreciate the educational system that made people into workers without will or purpose. The adoption of technology into education should be in such a manner that it can be utilized in all the branches of education, so that no branch of education is left out without using the advances in technology. By adopting the technology in education there is a chance to liberate the effects of political philosophy. There is a possibility of changing the political philosophy according to the education by using technology. First of all the adoption of technology in any education concentrates on industrial efficiency and it produces efficient workers and managers. By adopting the technology efficiently and prudently in education, the present education system is producing the human resources. (Ma rot, Helen, 1865-1940, 2004) It is opined by number of experts and Glenn commission in 2000 that the educational technology and education interface is advantageous for both. The technology can get commercial usage and the purview and quality of the education can be enhanced. This is due to the fact that the educational technology regarding computer and its peripherals has grown rapidly in recent years. The usage of technology in education will result the increase of usage of technology in the commercial organizations and industry and vice versa. The present day students cannot understand or digest the limitations of technology in the educational institutions and the institutions that offer technological facilities are considered as the best ones in their domain. Both educational and industrial technologies are using internet related technology and this formed the core of education and business. The digital connectivity with other educational institutions, universities and industries is becoming more and more vi tal as the information and knowledge sharing has been organized and it will increase the efficiency of the institutions. The following quote is the opinion of the US department of commerce. "Therefore raising the level of digital inclusion by increasing the number of people using the technology tools of the digital age is a vitally important national goal. "(No author, 2005) 3. Enhancing the Positive Educational Change The vital importance of the technology is insisted due to the effective and positive change in education due to increase in usage of technology. The inability and uncertainty of schools and universities that do not provide leadership in technology areas of education cannot improve and share learning processes and methods. The sharing of the thoughts and views which is used to be done in the past after the education can be done in the course of education due to technology. This effect can make meaningful recommendation of increase of usage of technology in education. When the knowledge of technology is inadequate for any institution to make meaningful recommendations, they can take assistance of the government and industry. This advice is due to the fact that the technology is responsible for the increase of productivity and profitability in many industries. As the increase of p

Health Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Health Sociology - Essay Example Also included is the criticism of capitalism which forces the lower working classes to be subject to the exploitation of the upper classes. This includes not only the working standards of the employees but a variety of other factors such as the standards of health which are determined by the bourgeoisie set to attain power. Through manipulating these means, they are able to produce surplus product which leads to profits and the upper classes accumulation of wealth and power for themselves. The last pattern set by Marxism is the need for the worker to revolt. It is only by standing up to the orders set for them by the upper classes that the proletariat can escape. This requires the workers to unite through unions and political parties to stand against the control of the rich ruling classes. Thus, the Marxist policy is very consistent with the idea of exploitation done by the ruling class to maintain their power over the poorer and less powerful working classes. While most Marxist opinions are based upon the concept of economic determinism and its effect on the resulting class conflict, Marx and Engels have been unable to come with a unified and direct theory on over-all purpose of civil society itself. However this purpose of society can be understood by examining the work done by both men. This includes the criticism of the 19th century social systems, the advantages of a communist system and its superiority to the exploitation committed by the capitalist systems and the Marxist need for a justified revolution that would allow the workers to gain their due rights (Peffer 1990).Thus, Marxists aim for a health system that will not deprive the poor of their rights to a justifiable and efficient system that will provide for their basic needs and wants. Marxists view the health care system as a method for capitalist societies to search for profits while maintaining their capitalist domination and capital accumulation (Waitzkin 1983). Marx saw the problems created by the inequality amongst the classes. The conditions borne by the lower working classes were dismal. The working classes were living in an abject state of poverty and were deprived of many material goods. Not only were they paid a minimum wage which prevented them from buying anything but the basic necessities of life but they also lived together which allowed the diseases amongst them to spread at a much higher speed. This unbridled capitalist system created a breeding ground for disease amongst the proletariat (Baggott 2004). There is no doubt that the upper classes are not immune to the disease and infections spread caused by the social and economic conditions, but the number of ill-health between the rich and poor are severely disproportionate. This was coupled with the health services provided to the two different classes. Both were phenomenally different. This proved the Marxist concept that while the rich prospered; the working class lived in poo r conditions under them. The idea is that the health of managerial and professional classes tends to improve while those of the poorer

Technological Change and Economic Growth Research Paper

Technological Change and Economic Growth - Research Paper Example Moreover, it is very essential to understand here that technology does not refer only to the information and technology but it signifies the transfer of knowledge, both theoretical and practical knowledge (Amesse & Cohendet, 2001, pp. 1459-1478) that influences the process of development positively and/or negatively. In order to understand the role of technological change in economic growth and broadly, economic development, it is very imperative to understand the definition of the terms itself that will subsequently indicate the role. Particularly, it has been an observation that economic development (Borensztein & Lee, 1995, pp. 115-124) has often been taken only in terms of economic progress of a state; in other words, in terms of its gross domestic production. However, in current era, economic development is more than an increase in GDP and various factors play a role in determining positive or negative economic development of a country. ... Here, one can notice various indicators in this list cannot be analysed quantitatively and therefore, economic development is more than quantitative progress of a country. The World Bank (2013) data confirms strong relationship of technological change with economic growth of countries. Analysis of its findings has indicated that countries that have invested more in technological advancements, especially in the sectors of education and business have been successful in providing basic facilities to its population, which has resulted in their overall economic growth and/or development. In other words, when a government ensures secure and encouraging social environment by working towards increased technological advancements, it automatically results in higher economic growth of the country. This surely is an indication of the role of technological changes that facilitates economic growth of a country. While the paper includes discussion on the role of technological change in economic gro wth of a country, it will be inappropriate to overlook the particular role of multinational enterprises that they play by bringing FDIs especially in developing countries. For many decades, quantitative indicator of economic growth (Victor, 2008, pp. 5-11) has remained an essential requisite for developing countries to transform into modern and developed economies. In the year 1972, Gould (pg. 1) defined economic growth as â€Å"the sustained increase in real per capita incomes.† Here, one can see that economic growth does not consider short-term alterations since it focuses on ‘sustained increase’. In this regard, one cannot overlook the significant role of

Impact of Capital Structure on Profitability

Impact of Capital Structure on Profitability Introduction A capital structure concerns the composition of the liability of a company or, more specifically, which is the relative participation of the several financing sources in the composition of the total obligations (Brealey and Myers, 1992; Gitman, 1997 and Weston Brigham, 2000). Capital structure decision is very vital for any organization; every organization wants a mix or arrangements that eventually achieves or increases its profitability and overall value. Different alternatives available to companies to finance its self sometimes through issuing shares securities, or some time from debt, organizations achieve different combinations huge or small amount of debt. An organization takes the combinations, which increase their efficiency and profitability and its market value. These types of decisions are very difficult in an uncertain economy. Such as; In Pakistani scenario existence of the macro environment factors such as lofty interest rates in double figures and volatility in economy and in political situations are big factors for the combination of capital structure. Consequently, the financing decisions experienced a significant rise of costs, in addition the diminution of the economic activity, which also raise the uncertainty. However, many theories and practical approaches contributed on capital structure, which ultimately give abundant literature: Target Capital Struture For the establishment of a target capital structure, the firm should analyze certain factors such as; mix of debt, preferred stock and common equity. The specific capital structure may be changed accordingly to conditions. The change in capital structure occurs due to the debt ratio. If the debt ratio is below the target level, the debt should be issued to raise the capital. If the conditions are in reverse, visa versa; the debt ratio is above the target the expansion capital should be raised by issuing equity. The firm, in its structure policy, involves a balance between risk and return in order to achieve the best combination to maximize the firms value. There are four primary factors, which influence capital structure decisions, they are: Business risk The firms tax position Financial flexibility Managerial conservatism or aggressiveness The above four factors largely determine the target capital structure. If no debt is used in the firms operations, it is at greater business risk while its favourable debt ratio is lower. If the firm uses the debt, the interest is deducted and the effective cost of the debt is lowered that is the major reason for using debt in the firms capital structure policy. If the firms income is sheltered from certain taxes such as; depreciation tax shields, interest on currently outstanding debt, tax loss carry-forwards. In such conditions, the firms tax rate will be low and in that condition additional debt will not be as advantageous as with a higher effective tax rate. If the conditions are adverse the firm should raise the capital on reasonable terms as steady supply of the capital is necessary for long run success it is in the knowledge of treasurer that at the time of tight economy or operating difficulties the suppliers of capital provide the funds with strong financial statements. It has, therefore observed that need for funds and the results of the fund shorted influence the capital structure. Hence, if the future need for capital is greater the consequences of capital shorted become worse. Therefore the financial statements should be stronger. The managerial conservatism or aggressiveness also influences the capital structure, managers of different firms possess different nature and observations or approaches some are aggressive than others and some are inclined to use the debt to get more profits. Though this factor is in effective to the favorable is value maximizing capital structure, yet it has great influence on the managerial target capital structure. On the whole the target capital structure is much influenced by the above four factors, due to which operational conditions can cause the actual capital structure to vary from the target capital structure. Optimal Capital Struture Most favorable capital is a capital which maximizes the worth of the companys stock it is also with a minimum weighted-average cost of capital generally known WACC. It does not necessary increases or maximizes earnings per share (EPS). Maximum earning per share (EPS) is not always achieved by attainment of the greater stock prices. With higher debt ratio may result in maximum earning per share (EPS), but may also increases firms risk level. Some debt employed by in optimal capital structure, but does not hundred percent (100%) debt employed. Some firms try to achieve different combinations of optimal capital structure; but they could not achieve this optimal capital structure or optimal point. There are many ways of the estimation of required rate of return on equity capital (RROE); through accumulating companys long-term cost of debt. Theories Of Capital Structure It has been observed that the capital structure of different industries vary form each other it is due to different reasons. If we observe two different companies from two different companies such as; pharmaceutical companies and airline companies the capital structure of the both companies quite different from each other. The reasons of the different capital structure of the different firms and industries are given in the theories, which are subjected to empirical tests. Modern capital structure theories are based on the published articles of professors Fransco Modigliani and Marton Miller (1958), generally known as (MM). According to MM the firms value is not affected by its capital structure and they further contributed were that the capital structure is irrelevant to a firms operations hence; MM has presented some unrealistic assumptions such: There are no brokerage costs There are no taxes There are no bankruptcy costs Investors can borrow at the same rate as corporations All the investors have the same information as management about the firms future investment opportunities EBIT in not affected by the use of debt Though some of the above assumptions are quite unrealistic yet; they are important as they indicate the conditions under which capital structure is irrelevant. MM have not only given unrealistic assumptions but they have also provided different clues, which show the required relevant capital structure and also affect a firms value. Thus MM assumptions gave the way to modern capital structure research and helped to develop more realistic theories of capital structure. The Trade-Off Theory The trade-off theory is very important theory; because it deals with the finance and equity. Which ultimately, elucidate how firms finance their venture for a time by equity and debt, theory also discuss the pros and cons of both ways. Companies best possible leverage change is inclined by firms adjustment toward an optimal leverage is inclined by three features such as: taxes, costs of financial distress and agency costs. Taxes And Bankruptcy Costs Tax rate and leverage are positively related; markup is a tax deductible, it reduces tax liability and enhances the after tax cash flows being a tax subtracts expense. Companies get on elevate point of debt if the tax charge is higher because Firms wants in their endeavor to enlarge cash flows and market value. Taxes Chance of defaulting enhances when the level of debt away from best possible point. When firm failure to pay loan than power of the firm will be transferred from shareholders to bondholders who will strive to recover their venture throughout the practice of bankruptcy. With financial distress company may incur two natures of bankruptcy costs. Direct and indirect costs direct cost comprise of administrative costs of bankruptcy practice. These costs will be lower proportion of the total cost when the firm size is large and vice versa with small size firm and may important variable in choosing the level of the debt. When investment policies of the company change which results in occurring of indirect costs. Firm can reduce the chance of bankruptcy with cutting down expenses on training, advertisement, research, and development etc. It also increases the customers reservations about companys offerings, which result in lower sales, market share, customer loyalty, and market share price et c. This entails that the prospective benefits from utilizing leverage are outlined by the latent costs of bankruptcy. Miller And Modigliani Theory Modigliani and Miller (1958) give you an idea about that the value of the firm does not change when any change occur in the capital structure. Firms build total cash flows for all investors are unchanged despite the consequences of capital structure. Altering the capital structure does not amend the total cash flows. Consequently the overall assets value provides ownership of these cash flows should not change. MM argue if worth of the firm depends on capital structure; which may be result in arbitrage opportunity in the perfect capital market. In addition, capital structure decision may be counteract when investors and firm can have access to at same rate. Despite the fact that MM theory is stands on numerous impractical assumptions, yet it presents the essentials theoretical background for further research. Agency Theory Jensen and Meckling (1976) discuss about the potential disagreement or relationship between companys executives and shareholders, according to theory managers do not have 100% interests in firm. Executives are the representatives of the shareholders and strive to assets away from bondholders to shareholders through captivating more loans and empowering in risky assets. Information Costs And Signaling Effects Capital structure can also be elucidate when disparity in information have available to stockholders and stranger regarding the investment opportunities and income allocation of the firm. This information parity may consequence in two separate results for capital structure, it is known as signaling with percentage of debt. Ross (1977) contributed that manager always familiar about the financial position of the company and its return allocation. When executives take debt decisions, it produce affirmative signal to stakeholders; about the financial position of the organizations and its ability to retire its debts and truthful allocation of return of the company. Managers always try to increase stakeholders or investors confidence, consequently with increasing equity value as result in also using significance amount in the capital structure. Pecking Order Theory Myers and Majluf (1984) state that shareholders always think executives employ confidential information when they offer risky securities and also overpriced. This observation guides under pricing of fresh equity offerings, this also may result in significance loss of present shareholders. For these reason organizations keep away from offering new projects through equity financing and use its internal funds if further financing is required they issue debt last option is equity financing. Factors Affect Capital Structure Decisions Capital structure decisions are very important for companies to make so there are certain factors which firms take in view when making capital structure decisions and they are: Sales stability: A firm takes this factor under consideration at the time of capital structure decisions. If compare two firms, one having stable sales and other having unstable sales, the firm whose sales is relatively stable can safely take on more debt and incur fixed charge in comparison to the company with unstable sales. For instance, the utilities companies use more financial leverage than industrial firms because they have stable sales Operating structure: This is another factor which is involved in making capital structure decisions. A firm having less operating leverage can imply financial leverage in better way as it will have less business risk. Assets structure: This factor may affect the capital structure decisions; there are two types of assets-general purpose assets and special purpose assets. The real state companies usually use general purpose assets as it makes good collateral. While the companies which are involves in technological research use special purpose assets, as they are not highly leveraged. Profitability: The factor of profitability also plays an important role in capital structure decisions; because the firms which get high rates of return on investment do not use high debt, but they use relatively little debt, as high rates of return on investment make them able to do financing with internally generated funds. Growth rate: This factor plays an important role in capital structure decision making. It has been observed that faster growing firms mostly rely on external capital as the flotation costs exceeds those incurred when selling debt this is the reason that rapidly growing firms rely more heavily on debt. It is also possible that the firms relying on external capital may often face greater uncertainty due to which those firms reduce their willingness to use debt. Control: there is great affect of control situation on capital structure decisions, because in such a situation when management has 50% voting control between the debt and equity. If the management is not in a position to buy or purchase any more stock, the other option for it is to use debt for new financing. But in the situation when the firms financial position is so week that the use of debt may be the cause of serious risk of default. In this situation the control considerations could lead to use either debt or equity. Taxes: As far as interest is concerned it is, no doubt a deductible expense which is much valuable to firms with high tax rates. It is therefore the firms use much debt because if firms tax rate is higher the advantage is also greater. Management attitudes: different management attitudes may bring different changes in capital structure decisions. Some managements are conservatives and others are aggressive these both managerial styles exercise accordingly to their own judgments and analytical approaches about the proper capital structure. If the management attitude is conservative it uses less debt, where is the management having aggressive approach uses more debt to get higher profits Lender and rating agency attitudes: A part from managers analysis of the factors lenders and rating agencies also plays an important role in financial structure decisions. The corporations give much importance to the lenders and rating agencies and make discussions with them about the capital structure and mostly act accordingly to their advice. Market conditions: Capital structure also depends on market conditions, a firms optimal capital structure or favorable capital structure depends on long-term and short-term changes. Low rated companies which are in need of capital either go for the stock market or to the short-term debt market without taking consideration of target capital structure. Financial flexibility: financial flexibility has also a bearing on capital structure decision. Affirm or company makes the decision according to its financial flexibility, if a company is financially good it can raise capital with either stock or bond. But; when its financial position is week the suppliers of capital make funds available, if that company gives them a secure position in shape of debt. Seeking all above thoughts in mind it can be said that the companies should maintain the financial flexibility or adequate reserve borrowing capacity because it depends on the factors which are necessary in making capital structure decisions. Firms internal conditions: this is also one of the factors which affect the capital structure decisions. If a firm succeeds in completing any project than the probability of higher returns increase in the near future. Due to such internal conditions a company would not issue stock because the new earnings are neither anticipated nor reflected in the stock prices. So in such condition the company or firm would give preference to finance with debt and till the higher earnings are materialized and or reflected in the stock prices. Statement Of The Problem Capital structure decision is very crucial and important for any organization in any sector or economy. It is always very much difficult for organizations to identify or gets the right combination of debt and equity (Capital Structure), which ultimately satisfies them or brings favorable and profitable results for the organizations. So; eventually this report mainly focusing on right combination of â€Å"Debt and Equity (Capital Structure) in the characteristic of Short-term Debt (SDA), Long-term Debt (LDA) and Total Debt (LA)† for any organization in Pakistan. In Pakistan modest research has done on such problem. It is important to work on such problem and come up with information, which gives some comfort level to investors and organizations to take correct financing decisions. Objective It is very important in Pakistani scenario to evaluate or investigate the impact or the influence of capital structure over the firm profitability. In this way the objective of this study is to investigate or evaluate the relationship among the rates of return of the listed non-financial firms on Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE-100) index related to composition of the capital structure. More exclusively, this is based on the assertion that whether short-term debt divided by total capital (SDA), long-term debt divided by total capital (LDA), and Total debt divided by total capital (TD) has positive or negative relationship with profitability. Research Scope/Limitations The scope of study to analyze impact of capital structure on profitability, also promotes as an aim for future research. Few limitations fixed up in this study: This research would just cramp to secondary data. The admittance would restrict to public information, all organizations would not share information that would confidential in nature. This study would not get into the details concerning factors that lead to capital structure or the reasons due to which capital structure comes in different combinations. Thesis Structure The report is systematized as follows. Phase one (1) introduction of the thesis, which includes the statement of problem, scope and limitations objectives hypothesis etc, this phase, also contains the some of the theoretical perspective regarding the capital structure. In phase 2 we describe Methodology that is constitutes the data and we justify the choice of the variables used in our analysis sample, technique and also estimate model used in analysis. In phase 3 we presents and analysis the results which taken after the data processing. The phase 4 contains the results and conclusions and recommendations. Literature Review Pakistan has not yet got much development in the bond market; therefore, many firms of Pakistan give preference to equity or internal financing in comparison to debt, but one day when this negative relationship between profitability and leverage of the firm will be removed, the Pakistani firms will realize the importance of debt financing, because it is the debt financing which increases the value of the firm and the wealth of the share holders (Ilyas. 2000). Study conducted (Rafiq, et al., 2008); it has been observed that the chemical sector of Pakistan gives preference to equity over debt and large firms borrow more debt because they have no fear of bankruptcy whereas small firms are afraid of more debt because of the fear of bankruptcy. In chemical sector huge cash flows are needed, therefore, the chemical industry of Pakistan uses more debt than equity to finance the new projects because the internal sources are not enough for a new firm, therefore, it depends on the debt because the fixed direct costs of bankruptcy constitutes a smaller portion of the total value the firm. The other reason for which most of Pakistani firms prefer to equity or internal financing over debt is that the bankruptcy process is slow an ineffective in Pakistan due to which firms face no or low bankruptcy costs. Study conducted (Hijazi and Tariq, 2006); study reveals that as for as the firm size is concerned, the Static Tradeoff Theory suggests that if the firm size is bigger, more debt will be used, but in Pakistan, the case is in reverse, here, the firm size is negatively correlated with leverage and the bigger firm size use less debt which supports the Pecking Order Approach and rejects the Static Tradeoff approach. After the deep observation of Asset structure, it has been concluded that asset structure of Pakistani firms does not depend on their capital structure. As the large firms of Pakistan have no fear of bankruptcy and have less chances to fall into financial distress or in other words, they are strong enough to bear shocks, so they employ more debt in comparison to smaller firms which have fear of bankruptcy because large firms face lower bankruptcy costs, therefore, there is, in large firms, strong relationship between profitability and leverage. The profitability, in large Paki stani firms, supports the Pecking Order Theory which is measured by net profit before taxes divided by total assets. Research conducted by Abor (2005) supports or investigates the relationship between the capital structure and profitability of listed firms on GSE. Data taken for this between 1998/02, twenty-five listed firms qualified for this study. Regression analysis methodology used in the assessment of functions involving the return on equity (ROE) with measure of capital structure. Capital structure is the combination of debt and equity used in the firms operations. Capital structure is related to the marketing, because different firms issue different securities in many different combinations, which maximize the market value. The impact of capital structure on profitability had been accounted in a considerable number of studies weather experimental or theoretical perspectives. Capital structure decision is very important for any organization to get higher return and profits and meet with the competition, different combinations of capital structure available to organizations; they select one w hich eventually satisfies or maximizes the firms market value. Huge return and profitable firms always use more short-term debt, short term is important part of total debt, and usually firms use 85% of short-term loan against long-term debt. Long-term debt and return on equity have negative relationship; total debt and return on equity are positively related. Coleman (2007) conducted study to find out the impact of debt policy on the performance of microfinance firms. Findings of the study demonstrate positive relationship between debt and firms performance. Long-term debt has positive relationship with outreach but not significant where as; short-term debt exercise force on management to extend a MFIs outreach. Long-term debt helps management through the time, so that the pressure of refund decreased which ultimately; give management flexibility to improve their profitability or returns by manipulating their operations. In microfinance organizations the leverage is positively related with outreach stage; when the leverage increase which also result in the increase of outreach level; credit advance leads to higher premium. This premium further converted into companys profitability and income flow which can also be employed to examine the debt. Higher outreach lowers the cost of operation by enabling firms to enjoy the economies of scale. Size is insignificant variable and outreach is negatively affected by it. Long-term debt and short-term debt are insignificant basically describe that maturity may not essentially be of spirit with default charge employee as performance variable though; total debt ratio determine significant relationship between leverage and default rates. Microfinance organizations which want to improve firms profitability and want to retire its debt obligations management can achieve these results by reducing the annual default rates especially for largely leverage microfinance organizations. Default rate has negative relationship with the size of microfinance organizations; for the reason that firms make sure refund of loans advanced and also become aware for future transactions this all happens when firms expands their sizes. There is negative relationship between debt and default rate, greater mean variation result in lower default rate. Though management of the firms try to reduce default rate s with the higher mean deviation found in risk level. So ultimate findings of the study reveals that microfinance institutions in Ghana finance their operations through the long-term debt as compare to short-term financing and they tend to be highly leveraged. Microfinance organizations benefit from scale of economies, additional customers when they are significantly leveraged; and also understand and increase ability to deal with risk and other alternatives easily and importantly. Study conducted by (Chen et al., 2009) in insurance industry Taiwan, to know the relationship among capital structure, operational risk, and profitability. Factor analysis and path analysis methodologies used to examine correlation among the capital structure, operational risk, and profitability sample of listed insurance companies in America was also taken. Result of research was firms values is not related with capital structure, a close relationship shown among operational risk, profitability, capital structure. Capital structure is negatively related with profitability if equity ratio increases or reserve-to-liability ratio decreases which result in higher profits. Capital structure has negative relationship with operational risk, same relationship between the operational risk and firms profitability. Research conducted by Carpentier (2006) Quebec Canada. Objective of study was to investigate the changes in capital structure do not affect the firm value. The bivariate tests and multivariate regression analysis methodologies are used for this study. Sample size of 243 French firms has taken for this study during the time period 1987-96. If all other things equal, then capital structure dont define any changes in the value of business organizations. Investors take debt in the considerations in order to determine the stock prices. Cross-sectional relationship found between the value of firm and debt exists, many factors affect firm value in long run the debt-value relationship. The static trade-off theory posits that the firm value increase (decrease) as the financial structure moves closer to (away from) the target. French companies tend to use a higher proportion of total debt and a higher proportion of institutional debt (non spontaneous funds) than US companies. Study was conducted by (Groth Anderson, 1997). Study explains capital structure and investigates its influence on the cost of capital and the value of company. This study sketches practical concerning the choices and management of capital structure. A theoretical and practical understanding of these relationships will support the professional manager in his or her efforts to gather added value for shareholders and stakeholders. Firms value and its stock prices does not affected by capital structure, optimal way to finance the firm exists. Capital structure theory is of value even if the arrays of assumptions in the theory do not hold. If an economic variable changes for example: interest rates, recessions, and the price of bearing risk affect the management decision of capital structure. Capital structure offer prospect of enhancing value for shareholders, it also time reduction in cost of capital to the economy and the standard of living. Research conducted by Rocca (2007) Italy, main purpose of this research to scrutinize the relationship between capital structure and firm value. Capital structure represents a corporate governance device that can protect corporate governance competence and protect its ability to create value. Methodology or approach used for this study is theoretical approach that can contribute in clearing up the relationship between capital structure and corporate governance. Descriptive, model also used which provides a research proposition and some suggestions, which would be used for future empirical research and precise design given for empirical analysis. Finding of this study is that, relation between capital structure and a firms value needs to take directly into account the role of moderation and/or mediation of the corporate governance. It is also necessary that presence of complimentary between capital structure and corporate governance variables such as: managerial ownership; ownership c oncentration; role of board of directors, etc. Study conducted (Ebaid, 2009) study mainly focus on relationship between the different debt-equity combinations with companys performance. Multiple regression technique used to find out the impact of debt policy on companys performance. Enormous studies conducted on debt policy alternative on firms performance; among them majority of researches conducted in developed countries; just few studies performed in emerging countries or economies one of them is Egypt. The research mainly focus on the relationship between alternative debt policy with firms firms performance data taken from listed Egyptian companies; performance is measured through accounting-based perspective such as: Return on Assets, Gross Profit Margin, and Return on Equity generally known as (ROA, GPM, and ROE), capital structure is measured with short-term debt and long-term dent and total debt abbreviation as (STD, LTD and TTD). Findings of the study reveal that both (STD and TTD) are negatively related by ROA. Alternat ively capital structure including total debt (TTD) in not significantly related with Return on Equity and Gross profit margin (ROE and ROA). Results of the study suggest that the performance of the Egyptian listed companies in not controlled (weak-to-no influence) by capital structure alternatives. Though; particularly in emerging markets debt policy remains debatable and mystery. Further research might observe determinants of Egyptian firms capital structure such as growth, business risk size and also evaluated with developed economies. The impact of capital structure on Egyptian firms value as well necessitates analyzing empirically. Findings of the study reveal that ROA and firm performance negatively related. It can also be investigated the impact of the maturity structure on its performance and capital structure decisions. Firms performance can jointly be by both ownership structure and capital structure in further studies in listed Egyptian firms. Study conducted (Eriotis et al, 2007) to investigate the firm characteristics that affect debt-equity combination. Data has been taken from 129 Greek listed firms at Athens Stock Exchange five (5) years time have taken under observation from 1997-2001, it is the 63% of listed companies in 1996. Through diverse theories companys characteristics are investigated as determinants of capital structure. The firms which employed debt ratio of 50% or more are also categorized in this research with a dummy variable. Results of the research reveal that firms debt ratio is negatively related with its growth rate and also its interest coverage ratio and quick r

Management :: essays research papers

Level of planning paper In 2000, the Primeco Wireless submerged, and emerged as Verizon Wireless; the need for speed was gaining momentum. Verizon Wireless Online DSL, digital subscriber’s line, is the number one telecommunication industry appearing in the FORTUNE Magazine; it has listed as the most Admired Company. Hay Group Fortune Magazine. The founder of Verizon Company is Darby Checketts; he was a man with a vision. This fast speed company under the CEO, Chairman, leadership of Ivan Seidenberg, has grown into an internet king. There are over 208,000 employees at the Verizon Online DSL Wireless Company, with an upward of $13 billion dollars a year in technology, it has 2.7 million shareowners and services billions of customers in communities all over America and the World. At least a 100 million people are connected by Verizon network everyday, whether at home, at work or on the go. Women Warriors has discovered in their research the highlights, accomplishments, and opportunities of Verizon to improve their customers lives in six areas that make up Verizon approach to corporate responsibility:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ethic and Governance   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Service and Innovation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Empowering Employees   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Promoting Community’s Growth   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Protecting the Environment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Partnering with Communities Strengths & Weaknesses Strengths and weaknesses are essentially internal to the organization and relate to matters concerning resources, programs, and organization in key areas. Strengths & Weaknesses are internal to the business and Opportunities & Threats are external. Verizon Communications Inc is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. With a diverse work force of more than 208,000, Verizon has four business units. Domestic Telecom serves customers based in 29 states with wireline telecommunications services, including broadband, nationwide long-distance and other services. Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 42.1 million voice and data customers across the United States. Information Services operates directory-publishing businesses and provides electronic commerce services. International includes wire line and wireless operations and investments, primarily in the Americas and Europe. Strategic Planning Process Strategy is define as the continuous, iterative planning process, which focuses on Keeping an organization competitive in its environment (Miller & Dess, 1997). Strategic planning is complex, laborious, and time consuming. Accordingly, an organization must allocate resources and time to the strategic planning process. ( Strengths Verizon strengths are its resources and capabilities that can be use as a basis for a competitive advantage. Verizon business strategy is to archive a sustainable competitive advantage such as. Cost advantage Differentiation advantage Verizon is able to deliver the same benefits as the other communication companies, but a lower cost, (cost advantage) or deliver benefits that exceed the competing products (differentiation advantage). Management :: essays research papers Level of planning paper In 2000, the Primeco Wireless submerged, and emerged as Verizon Wireless; the need for speed was gaining momentum. Verizon Wireless Online DSL, digital subscriber’s line, is the number one telecommunication industry appearing in the FORTUNE Magazine; it has listed as the most Admired Company. Hay Group Fortune Magazine. The founder of Verizon Company is Darby Checketts; he was a man with a vision. This fast speed company under the CEO, Chairman, leadership of Ivan Seidenberg, has grown into an internet king. There are over 208,000 employees at the Verizon Online DSL Wireless Company, with an upward of $13 billion dollars a year in technology, it has 2.7 million shareowners and services billions of customers in communities all over America and the World. At least a 100 million people are connected by Verizon network everyday, whether at home, at work or on the go. Women Warriors has discovered in their research the highlights, accomplishments, and opportunities of Verizon to improve their customers lives in six areas that make up Verizon approach to corporate responsibility:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ethic and Governance   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Service and Innovation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Empowering Employees   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Promoting Community’s Growth   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Protecting the Environment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Partnering with Communities Strengths & Weaknesses Strengths and weaknesses are essentially internal to the organization and relate to matters concerning resources, programs, and organization in key areas. Strengths & Weaknesses are internal to the business and Opportunities & Threats are external. Verizon Communications Inc is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. With a diverse work force of more than 208,000, Verizon has four business units. Domestic Telecom serves customers based in 29 states with wireline telecommunications services, including broadband, nationwide long-distance and other services. Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 42.1 million voice and data customers across the United States. Information Services operates directory-publishing businesses and provides electronic commerce services. International includes wire line and wireless operations and investments, primarily in the Americas and Europe. Strategic Planning Process Strategy is define as the continuous, iterative planning process, which focuses on Keeping an organization competitive in its environment (Miller & Dess, 1997). Strategic planning is complex, laborious, and time consuming. Accordingly, an organization must allocate resources and time to the strategic planning process. ( Strengths Verizon strengths are its resources and capabilities that can be use as a basis for a competitive advantage. Verizon business strategy is to archive a sustainable competitive advantage such as. Cost advantage Differentiation advantage Verizon is able to deliver the same benefits as the other communication companies, but a lower cost, (cost advantage) or deliver benefits that exceed the competing products (differentiation advantage).

A report that reflects on Person Centred Therapy

I reflected on Person-centred Therapy (PCT) as the comparative model because of the conflict that exists between this and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). The conflict is historical, political and from personal experience. In therapy twenty years ago I became frustrated with my counsellor’s person-centred approach. I challenged my counsellor to provide me with more support and help. I therefore had preconceived ideas of PCT which may be similar to stereotypical thinking of these models. It was excessively warm, completely non-directive and only reflected back to the client, which I found frustrating.I understand now it was because my coping style was externalised and I had no control over external events, which suited a more direct counselling approach. So, how would this influence my practice as a counsellor? In theoretical terms and in observed practice I appreciated the benefits of PCT for its empathetic understanding and for clients who require a non-directive approach to gain emotional awareness. Presenting issues that can be helped by PTS are bereavement, drug and alcohol issues, depression, panic and anxiety, eating difficulties, self-harm, childhood sexual abuse (Tolan and Wilkins, 2012).I have used the model affectively for bereavement and sexual abuse as an offer of a direction would have been inappropriate and incongruent at the time. My preconceptions of CBT were solution focused, challenging and that low intensity based interventions ignore the client’s past. I feel competent in using certain behavioural intervention in my practice and challenge maladaptive thinking patterns in sessions. CBT is a medical model and although we have been taught the disadvantages to diagnoses, CBT is seen as the treatment of choice for many presenting problems due to the amount of empirical evidence available.These are anxiety disorders, panic, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, PTSD, bulimia and depression as identified by NICE (NICE, 2008, Acc essed online 27/06/201). This report reflects on the appropriate use of the models. Stereotypes have some element of truth, but at the same time, are not the truths. I wanted to understand the similarities and parallels while respecting the fact that, in practise, I use both models. I didn’t want to do a bit of each badly, but use a model in full at the appropriate time and understand my reason for doing so (Casemore, and Tudway, 2012).Both PCT and CBT are deeply rooted in the same philosophical underpinning of humanism, existentialism, and both are phenomenology particularly to the nature of suffering. However, there are differences in the understanding and interpretation of the philosophy. Both approaches view a person as continually seeking growth and self-actualisation. There are incompatible beliefs between the models. (Casemore, and Tudway, 2012). PCT observes that seeking growth and self-actualisation is a way of being and in itself therapeutic.Rogers’ professed that there were six necessary conditions for therapeutic growth that alone were sufficient to lead to a fully functioning person. The individual is the own expert who can determine their own journey of their reality and can heal themselves with the core, being the relationship itself. The structure of the self includes self-concept and introjected beliefs. PCT communicates acceptance of the client’s own experience and encourages then to identify alternate choices. It is a continual journey of self-awareness and knowledge, with the drive always towards growth (Mearns & Thorne, 2012).CBT views growth and self-actualisation as a shared goal of therapy to be reached with a set of tools, to be implemented in therapy. CBT’s view comes from Ellis who defines a person as irrational and rational. In CBT terms ‘dysfunctional beliefs’ are similar to ‘introjected beliefs’ and led to distortion in the self-concept. The irrational cause’s distress a nd rational directs the individual to fully functioning. CBT primary belief is self distortion and the process of cognitive dissonance.Interventions such as the ABCDE framework are used to challenge and dispute irrational thinking and are aimed at increasing client’s self-awareness and self-understanding. CBT sees the relationship as more collaborative and facilitates new learning. An individual’s construct of reality is dimensional and irrationality stops the client from changing. Therefore, a person’s drive is not always towards growth (Casemore, and Tudway, 2012). A similarity of both approaches is the understanding of self-worth and unconditional self-acceptance. The nature of suffering is seen the same. Humans are flawed, imperfect and we cause our own disturbance.Both see the client as the expert in the relationship. Authenticity is of great importance to both PCT and CBT as is the therapeutic relationship. It is the emphasis on the process of change, to b ecome oneself, where the differences in two models lie (Castonguay, & Hill, 2012). From a PCT perspective a client discovers some hidden aspect of them self that they weren’t aware of previously and moves towards a greater degree of acceptance of self by being prized by the therapist (unconditional positive regard), have a sense of realness (genuineness) and listen to them self (empathy).A client moves towards seeing new meaning. These changes are characteristic of therapeutic movement. The client moves along a continuum from rigid structure to flow which can be seen in the seven stages of therapeutic change. Rogers’ term was ‘organismic experiencing’ which was interpersonal in the therapeutic relationship through unconditional positive regard and intrapersonal within the client accepting a new experience into their awareness (Castonguay, & Hill, 2012). In PCT, the process of change there are different corrective experiences for a client.For me practising with a client group from a women’s refuge I use PCT and Rogers’ condition-of-worth. The incongruence between the self-concept and authentic self is evident due to the abuse. This creation of a false self is corrected with unconditional positive regard, empathy and genuineness. Process Theory is where, change in the experience of feelings and the recognition that the client is the creator of their own construct occurs. The therapeutic change has a developmental sequence.There is a change in the client’s manner of experiencing feelings and recognition of being the creator of their own constructs, accepting responsibility and in relating to others openly and freely. This is compatible with the condition of worth. A person moves with acceptance to a fully functioning person. The person’s overall ‘way of being’ is changed. Relating to a congruent therapist, the client learns to be open and congruent themselves (Castonguay, & Hill, 2012). Unblockin g or Focusing is where the self-correcting, self-healing process of the organism is blocked.The person can’t refer inwardly, focus on feelings or articulate meaning. They have a rigid self-concept. Empathic listening within the therapeutic relationship opens the issue to re-examination and unblocks the person self-healing process. There is an interaction between the feeling and the attention the client brings to create a new meaning. This is Gendlin’s felt sense, an unexpected feeling of flow. The client becomes an active self-healer who has been felt heard and understood (Castonguay, & Hill, 2012).In practice building ‘Meaning Bridges’ – new understanding which identifying introjects imposed by others who imposed external systems of value has been paramount because of the external pressure that have be imposed through a close relationship. Internal opposing voices can be accepted, examined and resolved through compromise and collaborative solution. Until now, I saw this as CBT but can now see this as PCT with Rogers’s necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic change all that is needed for the process of change and this change occurs without engaging in cognitive process, but in the moment (Castonguay, & Hill, 2012).I am able to draw personal parallels from watching Rogers’ session with Gloria. Gloria wanted an answer from Rogers. In the session she found it for herself, even though she actively interpreted that he had helped her to the decision; even though he hadn’t. She makes the decision of honesty for herself. Although non-directive, Rogers’s session had a focused, this was of self-healing and self-direction. Refuting the belief that the person-centred way is only to reflect back to the client. The warmth from the counsellor is also part of the process of condition of worth.This helps me challenge my preconceived ideas and understand what is happening in practice. In practise, I am awa re from a CBT perspective the therapeutic approach can teach clients new skills. The therapist is regarded as more of a coach. The client benefits from new skills and perspectives which facilitate the learning and have a sense of efficacy. I have used CBT to look at specific problem behaviours and conceptualise them as having cognitive, affective, behavioural and physiological elements each of which can have a legitimate target for intervention and can be check for validity (Castonguay, & Hill, 2012).The process of change occurs in practice as old ways are challenged through exposure exercise, behavioural experiments and cognitive restructuring techniques. Change occurs in the therapeutic setting or outside in a person everyday life. It may require repetition to produce a lasting effect and reduce maladapted patterns. This is where CBT and PCT are similar as this requires a strong therapeutic alliance, but CBT literature takes this as a given and may be a reason it is criticised. Cl ients are taught emotional regulation and basic functioning skills, such as problem-solving skills, breathing relaxation and active coping.Specific interventions are then used to motivate and foster the therapeutic relationship, such as cost benefit analysis, daily thought records, and in vivo exposure. Aligning client’s goals with interventions in a formulation develops the therapeutic alliance and collaborates with the client, with hypothesis-testing strategies used to undergo the process of change [Casemore, and Tudway, 2012). CBT is focused on corrective experiences and facilitates through interventions rather than challenging a client.It respects the importance of the therapeutic relationship and uses Rogers’ core conditions but does not see the conditions as sufficient. In-depth schema focused CBT takes the therapy to a deeper level and deals with past issues, than the low intensity offered by the NHS. Again my preconceptions are challenged for the benefit of my practice. I can see how the two models are not rivals, as Roger Casemore and Jeremy Tudway suggest in their book Person-centred Therapy and CBT, and that sibling as a metaphor works well (Casemore, and Tudway, 2012).For me, the therapeutic relationship and the advanced empathy required in PCT are important in my practise along with the core conditions in order to create change. Rogers’ believes interventions as wrong, from a philosophical point of view, as the client always having to lead the therapy. This is because Rogers sees a person as having limitless potential. For me, CBT in offering intervention and gentle coaching helps a client on their journey to self-healing and a seed can be planted and therapeutic change can happen outside the counselling session.I support the views not all humans have the same drive and there is an unconscious element to being rational or irrational. It is a more real idea and not as optimistic as Rogers. It is observation of this therapeutic change and this idea that supports the use of CBT in my practise (Casemore, and Tudway, 2012). The BACP ethical framework has been written with Rogers’ core conditions in mind. Therefore, PCT offers the client and the therapist the need to fulfil the principles of self-care, of being trustworthy and providing autonomy.As to the personal moral qualities the PCT requires the therapist to have advanced empathy. CBT has been criticised for focusing too much on the intervention and not being of beneficence. In CBT extra competence in the implementation of the intervention is required, so the criticism of the technique becoming the therapy cannot be applied . In writing this report and in my practise, I feel the difference are enough not to combine the models, but that each model can go into the same toolkit and used separately in the same session with a client.With the collaborative element in mind and further reading I am interested in the approach by Mick Cooper and John McLeod. The pluralistic perspective which believes individual clients would â€Å"benefit from different therapeutic methods† used at â€Å"different points in time†. Therapist would â€Å"work collaboratively† with clients. â€Å"Help them identify what they want from therapy† and how this can be achieved. It leaves the question of the process of therapy integration in practice open for debate. (Cooper, and McLeod, 2010, Assessed Online26/06/13).

Both Antigone and Creon deserve our sympathy Essays

Both Antigone and Creon deserve our sympathy Essays Both Antigone and Creon deserve our sympathy Paper Both Antigone and Creon deserve our sympathy Paper and we feel much anguish and sorrow for her. Although for the most part Antigone is a character who is well deserving of the audiences pity, there are some instances in the play when we feel her behaviour is not acceptable. Antigone would certainly not have been considered a conventional character by Sophocless contemporaries. Her brave and fiery nature is a far cry from the submissive, docile temperament women were expected to have in ancient times. Her bold actions may have seemed like the right thing to do, but perhaps she was overstepping the mark. She did, after all, disobey Creons orders and consequently break the laws of state. For this reason, many would condemn Antigones rash impudence. When Antigone speaks with her sister Ismene, the audience feel once again that perhaps she is taking her violent passion too far. Ismene begs her to obey the law, even though she too loves her brother and would like to see him receive a proper burial. She is far more prudent than Antigone, and warns her: Remember we are women, were not born to contend with men. Then too, were underlings, ruled by much stronger hands, o we must submit in this, and things still worse. We can see that Ismene loves her sister dearly and wants to protect her from the terrible punishment which her crime will result in. However, instead of heeding her sisters words, or thanking her for her concern, Antigone turns on Ismene and speaks to her very harshly. She says: Id never welcome you in the labour, not with me. So do as you like-whatever suits you best. This hot-headed response makes Antigone a far less favourable character in the audiences eyes, particularly considering Ismenes genuine anxiety and care for her sister. Similarly, when Antigone says Ill hate you all the more for youre silence we feel her contempt is unreasonable and unmerited. Even when the crime has been discovered, Ismene remains faithful to her sister and implores Antigone to let her share the guilt and the consequence. This makes us all the more astonished at Antigones fierce reply: Who did the work? Let the dead and the god of death bear witness! I have no love for a friend who loves in words alone. When we consider that Ismene is totally innocent, and yet prepared to sacrifice her own life for her sister, Antigones abusive behaviour seems ruthless and unacceptable. We can find no sympathy for such malicious conduct and blind obstinacy. Like Antigone, another character who arouses a mixture of emotions within the audience is Creon. In some instances we feel empathy for him, and are in accordance with his actions, whilst in others we find his behaviour far from laudable. Despite her troubled past and unnatural parentage, Creon has promised Antigone in marriage to his own son, Haemon. This was a magnanimous decision on his part, particularly considering the disadvantage Oedipus female children would find themselves at in acquiring a husband. Indeed, Oedipus himself said that no man would ever want to marry them for the shame and disgrace he had brought upon their heads. Creon could have chosen any wife for Haemon, but instead, he took pity on Antigone, even though the union may have proven potentially scandalous in public opinion. Creon is a conscientious ruler, and at first he appears to be quite the noble and benevolent king. Deep down, he wants the best for Thebes. He will not tolerate traitors endangering his city state, and expresses such fine and patriotic sentiments in his opening speech: I could never stand by silent, watching destruction arch against our city, putting safety to rout, nor could I ever make that man a friend of mine who menaces our country. Creon is also fairly pious, which would have been approved of by the contemporary audience, and is something which even the modern audience can appreciate. He believed he was doing the gods a favour by punishing his nephew. When Polynices marched on Thebes with his army, he not only committed the crime of treason, but also that of sacrilege in burning the temples and holy places of the city. Creon found this intolerable and as such felt he was doing right by the gods in punishing Polynices. The audience can admire the more honourable characteristics of Creon, however misguided his actions may have been. He is a man of his word, and one who refuses to see laws broken. For this, the audience holds him in high esteem. During the play, Creon proves himself to be quite the tyrant, and the audience find him a far less appealing protagonist. However, at the end of the play, we feel more pity for him than we thought possible. After he has discovered the error of his ways, he rushes to Antigones vault to try and make amends, only to find her hanging from the roof of the cavern. Haemon is also there, and in his desperation and fury, he stabs himself, flinging his arms around Antigone in a final embrace. The loss of his only son must have been a tremendous blow for Creon as we can tell from his dialogue with the chorus leader and the messenger. He says: Oh my plans, my frantic heart, my son cut off so young! Ai, dead, lost to the world not through your stupidity, no , my own. It seems that Creon has learned his lesson too late, and all his repentance and sorrowful lamentations are in vain. When Creons wife, Eurydice, hears the news of her sons death, she too takes her own life, adding to Creons misery. Although he did bring about the destruction of his family, and has no one to blame but himself, we do feel immense pity for Creon. When he says: Oh god, the misery, anguish- I, Im churning with it, going under we sympathise with tremendous loss and utter desperation. He is no longer the great and formidable king, but a man broken by misery and anguish. Although we do feel sympathy for Creon in some instances in the play, for the most part he is a character to whom the audience do not take kindly. Like his predecessor Oedipus, he quickly changes from the admirable and generous ruler of Thebes, to the dominant, tyrannical king. This radical transformation occurs fairly on in the play, when the sentry announces that someone has buried the body and broken the laws of state. Creon swiftly turns his anger on the sentry, accusing him of having a hand in the matter and brutally threatening to string him up alive. Believing the sentry to have been bribed, he also threatens to have the immorality wrung out of him. This violent paranoia is reminiscent of the behaviour of Oedipus. Just as Oedipus did, Creon bombards Tiresias with an onslaught of threats and abuse, promising that he will pay the price. He ignores the good advice of the prophet, assuming he too has been bribed. Creon says: You and the whole breed of seers are mad for money and calls his prophecies a lie. His short temper and highly suspicious mind lessen our opinion of Creon. We cannot pity a man who refutes all the good advice given to him but blindly follows his own course of action. indeed, there is a point in the play where Creon says, as ruler of Thebes, the people must follow his orders whether they be right or whether they be wrong. This attitude is rather disconcerting, and the contemporary audience would probably have been extremely disturbed by Creons dictator-like behaviour. Creon also treats Antigone and her sister very harshly once he has discovered the truth. He has the nerve to call her a slave and subordinate, and even insults Ismene, who had no hand in the crime. He turns on her, saying: You! In my own house, you viper, slinking undetected, sucking my life-blood! . Such cruel words seem unnecessary and repellent. The way he talks to Antigone is perhaps even worse. He says: The stiffest stubborn wills fall the hardest; he toughest iron, tempered and strong in the white-hot fire, youll see it crack and shatter first of all. These threats seem ironic indeed, for who could be more stubborn and wilful than Creon himself? He seems to have absolutely no regard for the bonds of kinship, and treats his own niece as a mere criminal, and inferior. He even dares to change her punishment from stoning to being locked away and starved, making her death far slower and more painful. Again, our opinion of Creon is lowered by his unacceptable behaviour. When Haemon attempts to offer his father good counsel, again Creon spurns and insults him.. Haemon acts as a kind of mediator between the king and the people of Thebes. He knows that there will be public outrage on the death of Antigone, who is already being hailed as a heroine and martyr. However, despite the backing of the chorus leader, who agrees that Haemon is talking sense Creon fails to be moved by his son. In fact, an argument ensues, in which Creon calls Haemon you degenerate. We feel Creon is very foolish in ignoring his sons advice, particularly seen as Haemon acts as the voice of public opinion. The audience at this point have no sympathy for Creon and would gladly see him punished for his misdemeanours. When the chorus leader dares to suggest that the burial may have been a token act of the gods, Creon is furious. Although he believed himself to have been doing the gods a favour in punishing Polynices, in reality his actions were arrogant and egotistical. He has overstepped the mark in thinking he can act as an equal to the gods, who regard it as their duty to punish the perpetrators of sacrilege. Not only this, but in priding himself on being a man who abides by the laws of state, he has forgotten that he is breaking the unwritten laws of the gods. It was also the custom and tradition of Thebes to bury traitors outside of the city walls. In conclusion, I would say that both Antigone and Creon deserve our pity, however, not in equal amounts. Overall, I felt Antigone to be the more deserving character. Although at times she is capricious and hot tempered, it was her love for her family and a respect for the gods that drove her to carry out her crime. Creon, in contrast shows none of this love. He initially believes that money was the sole reason for the crime, never suspecting that it might have been committed for a different motive. He shows himself to be cold and heartless, turning on the members of his family and severing the bonds of kinship with ease.