Final projec Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Final projec - Essay Example For one to achieve a good structured material he has to ensure all the rules are followed. Improper utilization of commas in writing is common mistake students tend to make in writing. When using a comma, one should ensure that the sentence he is writing remains within the fringes of sense and meaning. Wrong application of comma in a sentence alters the meaning that the writer intended and results to bad material. One realization is that too many commas in a sentence may be distracting, and too few commas may result to text that is hard to comprehend. A mistake that has been noticed in student writing is use of articles: is, are, was and were. These articles are used in sentences as a way of referring to the number or amount of things or subjects being referred to. The rule of these articles in writing sometimes are confusing, this is majorly in the sentences that there are two or more subjects in one sentence. The confusion then ensues when a verb is added in this sentence and the r eference of the verb to a particular subject is mixed up. A sentence like ‘for most things in life that you learn how to do are from observing’ is a good example of this situation. There two subjects which are ‘you’ and ‘things’ where as the verb is ‘observing’. ... Structuring mistakes are commonly associated to using several tenses in one sentence hence confusing the reader. A proper structure ensures proper flow of material which then becomes easily comprehended by readers. A sentence should have enough points to create meaning and sense to the reader, this ensures that there are connectors of the work from the start to the end of the material. Clarity goes together with proper structuring. In a good written material, the writer should ensure that the points of his work are brought out in such a way as to give the reader an easy time toward understanding the material. Clarity should flow from the beginning of the written materials to the end; this ensures that the reader gets to understand the reasoning and the basis of the whole material in relation to the thesis structure. In writing one should ensure that he understands what material he writes is intended to, this is to ensure relevance. The use of informal words in a material can result n egatively in an essay context whereby the markings are to be made using proper English elements. Using of informal material is however not recommended since some of the words tend to stick and avoiding them becomes tough. Formal language has several advantages over informal language; this is in relation to addressing a wider audience. When a writer uses a word like bro, this only relates to a particular people and not advisable. Formal language in writing ensures that one stays within the rules of English since most of them comply with most of the writing rules. In writing there are stylistic devises that are meant to bring out auxiliary meanings to literal material. Improper use of stylistic devises; using the in places

How The Meaning Of Democracy And Globalization Differs In Deferent Essay Example for Free

How The Meaning Of Democracy And Globalization Differs In Deferent Essay Globalization is making international trade more easy and accessible. Business operations cut across transnational borders in contemporary times, more than before. Furthermore, there are increasing numbers of players in the international trade and deal transactions than ever before. The neo-liberalists views in international trade has always supported a globalize and open market order in which every countries is expected to open up its market and imbibe the culture of free trade, free economy entry and exit of labor and the opening of the state economy to the international market for active competition. The adoption of open markets have resulted in the political responses in terms of change in the political structure, that is hitherto exhibited and the way government intervene in her country’s economy. This change has resulted in the adoption of the neo-liberal stand. Even, the communist states are now gradually opening up to the trade zone to international transactions. â€Å"Globalization can be briefly defined as, the intensification of economic, political, social, and cultural relations across borders† (Holm Sorensen, 1995:4). According to Yeung (2002), from an economic perspective the term globalization is defined as â€Å"the rapid proliferation of cross-border production, trade, and investment activities spearheaded by global corporations and international financial institutions that facilitate the emergence of an increasingly integrated and interdependent global economy†. Thus, globalization is a transformation of the world order to become accustomed to the changes of time and the pattern of the world order. Democracy is seen as a system of government where the government is accountable to the people, and sovereignty of the state lies with the people. Cultural differences in terms of the practices and way of living of people makes them adapt to different conceptualization and practice of philosophy associated with democracy and globalization. DIVERSITY IN CONCEPTUALIZING DEMOCRACY AND GLOBALIZATION IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES Williams (1983) try to capture in his book the differences between in articulated experience and the general conclusion reached in regards to democracy and globalization. This according to him has lead to the covert disappointments in the failure to formulate that tension abstractly. People’s experience in actual life sometime differs from the principles underlying democratic practices and the gains and pains attributed to globalization in the 21st century. Williams work preoccupies with the connections between human ideology and societal culture. The cultural difference between countries and political and economic settings tend to present different realities pertaining to democracy and globalization. For instance, in underdeveloped African countries democracy in the real sense which has to do with government by the people and where full public accountability is emphasized is a far cry from the realities. African leaders are corrupt and tend to infringe on people’s human rights. There is poor public accountability, amidst high level of corruption. The interpretation giving to democracy in the advanced western world respects the rights of the people and public accountability is emphasized. Sovereignty should lie with the people according to democratic principle, but in African countries that practice democratic rule, the leaders see themselves as custodian of sovereignty, as it is observed in a monarchical rule. The African culture embraces a fatalistic perspective to life, while the western culture tends to strive for change. This fatalistic lifestyle as made globalization not too beneficial to underdeveloped African countries, as they rely on primary goods production, which are grossly under priced in the international trade level. Williams thus, recognized the importance of taking individual and social circumstances into consideration as this bring about the differences in interpretation to vital issues of life, like democracy, human arts, industry, class and culture. The role of developing countries in globalizing the world is one in which they play significant role. Most raw materials utilized in both advanced economy and in processing into finish, products are sourced from developing countries from Africa, Asian, and Latin America. At the aftermath of the Uruguay Round Agreements (URA) the role of developing countries in global economy has increased significantly. Furthermore, the role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is harnessing trade negotiations within developing countries. According to Michalopoulos (1999), â€Å"The integration of the developing countries into the multilateral trading system has been especially impressive for a group of perhaps 15-20 middle and higher income developing countries in Latin America and Asia†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The increasing significant of developing countries in speeding up the global development ascribes on them certain responsibilities that is expected for them to play. This comes in way of putting in place a smooth export trade zone for its raw materials and free movement of labor in and out their national boundaries. Some developing countries in assuming this responsibility has formed export agency among them to enable the smooth export trade in raw materials. â€Å"†¦exports have risen b y more than 10 per annum in volume since 1970†¦ the developed countries combined gross domestic product (GDP); at the beginning of the 1990s†¦accounted for 1. 8 per cent of GDP, whereas the figure in 1999 was 3. 2 per cent† (Akyuz, et al 2001). Developing countries has developed policies in their exports, which is characterized by imposition of control and taxes on export of primary products and foodstuffs, and also they tend to provide incentives and subsidies to their exports manufacturers (Michalopoulos 1999). Thus, the need to create a trade free zone and easy passage of primary products to international zone where they would be converted into finished product is one responsibility developing countries need to carry out. Furthermore, the developing countries play the significant role in the supply of labor, in the production process, given their large population. Developing countries have large labor markets, thus the supply of this to the global labor market goes a long way in contributing to global development. Thus improving of labor skills in developing countries is a way the usefulness of labor in this part of the world would contribute significantly in area of global development. In this view, Akyuz, et al (2001), has it that â€Å"improvement in labor market conditions will also require a reorientation of development policies at the national and global levels, particularly with respect to the speed and pattern of integration of developing countries into the global economy†. The role third world countries play in globalization is directly connected to how their cultural background and interpretation to the phenomenon is connected to their occupation and way of life. For instance, countries in Africa, it has 70 percent of its workforce in peasant farming. Thus, the continent economy is agrarian and thus, its involvement in globalization is in the production of primary product. On the other hand, advance western countries like U. S. and EU states, including advance Asian countries like Japan, China, produce finish products like automobiles, electronics etc. While the western world would conceive globalization as an expanded place for trading, with the less barrier to trade, the underdeveloped countries something conceive this as a continue exploitation of the westerners and the dependency on their products. CONCLUSION Democracy has in contemporary times being widely acknowledged globally in the political realm and in work place. Workers participation are urging for more participation as a way to embrace democracy. In addition, this globalization phenomenon has made organized capitalism to transit from corporate capitalism to monopoly capitalism not it is in its customer capitalism. However, democracy is different interpreted by countries in line with their cultural setting. While the advance political states seeks for more respect for human rights and public accountability, the underdeveloped state in their nascent democracy are trying to fight huge level of corruption and leadership oppression as it is being notice in Zimbabwe where Mugabe is hindering any move of oppositions. In addition, the conceptualization of globalization by different countries depends on the receiving end they find themselves in the international trade. While those countries primarily engaged in the production of primary products such as raw materials cry for unfavorable term of trade, the advanced economic countries see globalization as a pattern for encouraging free trade and maximizing economic wealth. REFERENCES Akyuz, Yilmaz, et al (2001), â€Å"Globalization, Inequality and the Labour Market† http://www. flassbeck. de/pdf/GLOBALIZ. PDF. (02/12/07)Michalopoulos, Constantine (1999), â€Å"Trade Policy market Access Issues for Developing Countries: Implications for the Millennium Round† http://wbln0018. worldbank. org/research/workpapers. nsf/bd04ac9da150d30385256815005076ce/a70066326b8be18c85256818005b9fb6/$FILE/wps2214. pdf. (2/12/07) Williams, Raymond (1983) Culture And Society: 1780-1950, Columbia University Press. Yeung, Henry W. (2002), â€Å"The Limits to Globalization Theory: A Geographic Perspective on Global Economic Change† Economic Geography, Volume 78, Number 3, July http://www. europe. canterbury. ac. nz/courses/euro223/yeong. pdf. (02/12/07)

Country Lovers Essay Example for Free

Country Lovers Essay The narrative elements of literature are crucial when writing a story as they are what raises the story above being a line of strung together sentences and give the story meaning. It is especially important to have a clear idea of these elements when wring short stories because, unlike novels, the writer is only given a small amount of space to get his/her point across. By reading literature and searching for these narrative elements one can get a true feeling for their importance to the story and improve their own writing. Recently I have had the pleasure of reading the short story â€Å"Country Lovers†, by Nadine Gordimer and in this paper I will explain how she used the narrative elements of plot, theme and point of view to enhance her story and make it a richer experience. The story â€Å"Country Lovers† written by Nadine Gordimer is a story about love and race. This story starts with a childhood love and grows into adulthood. â€Å"Country Lovers† is a story that deals with a forbidden love between a black woman named Thebedi and a white man whose name is Paulus. Thebedi gets pregnant by Paulus which is not allowed in the 1900’s and Paulus did not know about this pregnancy. Thebedi decides to get married after Paulus leaves for collage and the man she marries accepts the child as his own. After Paulus returns and finds out about the pregnancy the child mysteriously dies. In W. R. Clugston’s book, The Journey Into Literature he defines plot as â€Å"a dynamic element in fiction, a sequence of interrelated, conflicting actions and events that typically build to a climax and bring about a resolution† (Clugston, 2010, p. 5. 1). This is a story of a romance between a white man and a black woman who discover their love is restricted by the law, which is troublesome for them both because they love each other deeply and in the end this restriction ends in tragedy. In W. R. Clugston’s book, The Journey Into Literature, he also describes how to identify the theme in a story: â€Å"To identify a storys theme its necessary to look beyond the plot. The plot tells you what happens in a story, but the theme tells you what the story is about† (Clugston, 2010, p. 7. 1). The theme of the story helps the story evolve and come to life. The theme of this particular story is love and race and as I pointed out earlier the race part of the theme is a white man falls in love with a black woman. Even though there is so much going on in this the overall theme to this story is love, specifically a forbidden love. Now let talk about the point of view of the story â€Å"Country Lovers†. Cluston defines point of view as, â€Å"Point of view refers to who tells the story—how the action is presented to the reader. When you read a story, you are sensing everything in it through the eyes of the narrator. Its important to remember that the narrator, whether a character inside the story or one looking on from outside the action, is a voice invented by the author for the purposes of the story† (Clugston, 2010, p. 5. 1). The point of view in this story is third–person omniscient. This means that the narrator is not a character in the story and we are reading the story from the narrator’s and not the character’s view. The omniscient part of the point of view is the narrator is helping us to experience the feelings of the characters. Point of view has so much impact on the story because it gives us the feeling of the story. The article â€Å"Country Lovers† explains why the third person narrative is essential to this story: â€Å"It [†¦] used third person because then we get a neutral point of the story, and we don’t natural[y] take side[s] with one of them†( Country Lovers, 2012,). If someone writes a story in a first person you are getting everything from the character s point of view and a person reads what they see, feel, and hear. This will change the story dramatically because people don’t know if what they see is real or not. It is the character who makes people feels the way someone does. As for third person the narrator tells us what is really going on in the story. People know what the truth is and what is not. When someone gets to read a story in third person they get the whole perspective. All of the literary elements help a story come together. If someone does not have all the parts of the story such as plot, theme, tone and point of view then the story will be lacking. The plot of the story lays everything out what is going to happen, the theme of the story tells you what kind of story it is going to be, the tone determines how the story will be told (Clugston, 2010, p. 5. 3), and the point of view can change everything. These elements are all critical in turning words on a page into literature and if you take even one piece away even the great works of history would be reduced to nothing. I. B. singer said it best when he said, â€Å"A story to me means a plot where there is some surprise. Because that is how life is full of surprises† (Singer, 2001).

Study On The Financial Sources For SMEs

Study On The Financial Sources For SMEs Introduction SMEs are those industries, which are unquoted in a stock exchange, run by few individuals or a type of family businesses having connection with shareholders. According to South West Venture Fund, SME is a company or business that has less than 250 employees and has an annual turnover not exceeding approximately  £24 million. SME sector is very large in UK economy. There are 3.7 million businesses in UK according to the survey conducted in 2003 by Department of Trade and Industries (DTI) and 99% of those are small and medium sized and survey also suggested that UK gains 50% of its total turnover from SME sector. On the other hand according to the report of HM Treasury 2008 there are 4.7 million SMEs in the UK and are responsible for more than 52 per cent of total UK business turnover. Therefore it can be seen that SMEs have an important role to play to drive UK growth and the average productivity of SMEs has increased in the last ten years. On the other hand SMEs are struggling in accessing to finance whereas there are many sources of finance available in UK. The main problem with SMEs to obtain finance is that of uncertainty. Investors most of the time dont rely on SMEs in investing because SMEs does not have a long track record of success. Banks are quite nerves of SMEs to investment because SMEs represent high credit risk. The problem is, banks are not increasing the loan amount without increasing security given and most of the SME owners are unable to provide security. There are many SMEs without tangible assets to use as a security for all lenders. All the financial sources for SMEs are listed below with brief description. Business Angles Business angles are private individuals who invest their own assets in SME or start-up businesses. Business angles also share their personal business experience with other entrepreneurs. LBA (London Business Angles) provides great services to innovative starting-up businesses who seeks the capital more than  £100 k for their future growth. London Business Angle runs by Greater London Enterprise (GLE). The main reason behind investing by business angles is that they are very experienced and successful entrepreneurs and they not only provide finance they also train new business through sharing their experience. The fact on the other hand is only few companies can find business angles, LBA receive 1000 business plan and after the whole selection procedure only 42 business have been invited to invest with. Another group of business angles BBAA (British Business Angles Association) is also working to provide financial help to early stage businesses. Every year private individual or these business angles invest between  £800 million to  £1 billion in starting-up business and SMEs. Overdraft Financing Overdraft financing is another most popular way of accessing to finance for SMEs. In overdraft financing, payments are made from the current account of business when the amount exceeds the available balance. Through the overdraft facility business gets short-term funds whereas the amount which is loaned is repayable according to the bank demand. There are some benefits of overdraft facilities such as the borrowed amount can be changed within the limit and interest is only payable on the amount borrowed. The main disadvantages of overdrafts are, bank can ask to pay back the money very sooner than expected time, overdraft limit can be changed at any time by the bank, overdraft facility cannot be used if large amount is needed and the interest rate is higher than the bank loan. Some other factors must be considered when using overdraft facility to obtain finance. Such as the amount that is borrowed should not go beyond the given or agreed limit, interest also differs according to the am ount borrowed and the interest rate is higher than the bank base rate , sometime bank can charge the overdraft fee and finally overdraft cannot be obtained for long term. One more difficulty for SMEs to obtain finance through overdraft is SMEs can be asked to provide some kind of security depending on the size of overdraft facility. Security may be of any type for an example it can be tangible fixed assets or personal guarantees given by company directors. Venture Capital Venture capital provides long-term, committed share capital, to help unquoted companies grow and succeed. If an entrepreneur is looking to start-up, expand, buy-into a business, buy-out a business in which he works, turnaround or revitalise a company, venture capital could help do this. Obtaining venture capital is substantially different from raising debt or a loan from a lender. Lenders have a legal right to interest on a loan and repayment of the capital, irrespective of the success or failure of a business . Venture capital is invested in exchange for an equity stake in the business. As a shareholder, the venture capitalists return is dependent on the growth and profitability of the business. This return is generally earned when the venture capitalist exits by selling its shareholding when the business is sold to another owner. Venture capital in the UK originated in the late 18th century, when entrepreneurs found wealthy individuals to back their projects on an ad hoc basis. This informal method of financing became an industry in the late 1970s and early 1980s when a number of venture capital firms were founded. There are now over 100 active venture capital firms in the UK, which provide several billion pounds each year to unquoted companies mostly located in the UK. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Introduction It being any country, small and medium enterprises has become an integral part of it and provides remarkable contribution to its economy. SMEs play a pivotal role in job creation and in progress of country. Like UK, many countries now understand the importance of small business and started to diversify it for job creation and also for the long term development of the countrys economy. . SMEs constitute the majority of economies around the world, these highly contribute in private sector and one of which seems to be growing in folds with time. According to the reports of Bank of England (2003), approximately 54% of the total value is added by small and medium firms in the UK. In fact, in some sectors SMEs have contributed more than larger firms Entrepreneur and Entrepreneurship The word entrepreneur has been defined numerous times by the researchers in their research. There is no specific definition of entrepreneurship but there is a generally accepted definition which highlights its significant contribution in the growth of economy. An entrepreneur has the ability to provide momentum for the change, innovation in the traditional strategies and approach. They always try to introduce new ideas in the business market. Entrepreneur is someone who can gauge the financial risk during the business startup and has the ability to capitalize the opportunity of benefit of an enterprise. Besides, various researchers have determined different characteristics of an entrepreneur. For instance, according to Adler, 2002; Aldrich, 1989; Alstete, 2003; Anderson et al, 1992; Anna et al, 1999, an entrepreneur is very creative, skilful, innovative and always keen to explore new ideas and strategies. While, according to others the traits are Hunger for achievement Desire of total control Need of independence and leadership Low traditionalism Risk taker Dominance Moreover, Yonekura in 1984 suggested the characteristics like assertiveness, insistence, forward looking, critical thinking, creative, innovative, broad minded, creative etc. On the other hand, Burk (2002) proposed that optimistic, hard working and desire to achieve are the qualities which are common in entrepreneurs. There are various reasons for people to choose entrepreneurship and start their own business. This area has also been widely researched (Walker, 2004). Result of most of the studies done in this area show that people are motivated by personal and financial reasons like achievement need, independence, and the creation of wealth (Bird, 1989; Birley and Westhead, 1994; Burns, 1996; Hisrich, 1986; Kuratko et al., 1997). Generally, most of the studies suggest that personal internal reasons are more important motivations as compared to financial reasons in going into entrepreneurship (Gray, 1993). Despite of the above mentioned reasons, his/her present job situation also plays an important part and can influence them for business adoption. According to the Moore and Buttner (1997), unfavorable conditions experienced within the organization, for instance- lack of opportunities and less salary may also push them to start their own business. Furthermore, people who are jobless are also sometimes forced to become entrepreneurs (Still and Guerin, 1991), even though the clarity of the entry of business and its form are not that clear to them at the start (Praag, 2003; Vodopivec, 1998; Walker, 2004; Walker and Brown, 2004; Burke et al., 2002; Burns, 1996; Buttner Moore, 1997; - Process Involved in Business Start up Over the period of time remarkable changes have taken place in the work environment and culture of small and medium enterprises. The failure or the success of any organization depends upon the initial or the kick off stage of the business. The start up of any business activity depends upon the manner or the way in which the business makes arrangements or provisions of funds. The growth of the firm is the most important aspect and has to be done with taking care so that it can grow up to its full potential (Carter et. al., 1996; Carter Anderson, 2001; Carter Cannon, 1988; Chaganti Parasuraman, 1996; Cliff, 1998). Steps involved in the start up of any business activity can be classified as under:- Business Start up:- The theoretical aspects behind the set up or start up of any business are quite different from the practical ones which can be classified as under:- The creation of an idea Theory:- The start-up of the business by the entrepreneur begins with the setting of an idea. Idea is the stepping stone on which the business relies and most of the aspects of the business are considered in the initial idea itself. There are pros and corns to everything and in the business set-up the setting of idea itself leads to the same. Opportunity Recognition The recognition of the right opportunity at the right point in time is what the entrepreneur must be able do. The task of recognizing opportunity for the same is not an easy task at all. There may be loads of opportunities which arise in the market like they may be in the form of a new product or service that has to be offered to the customer (Kotler, 1972; Deshpande, 1983). Research of the market and forming of the Business plan Research plays a key role before the starting up any activity and business also demands for the same i.e. to conduct research and then formulate a business plan. The key role in set up of any business plan is by carrying out SWOT analysis of the same which means to recognize the Strength Weakness Opportunities and Threats that the organization has to offer (Kotler, 1990; Dyer, 1994). Finance Arrangement Finance is the blood stream of any organization and without the induction of finance no organization can operate. There are loads of sources available for the firms both small and medium sized. Basically for the small and medium enterprises there are mainly two sources of finance internal and external. The basic difference between the internal and external source is the element of interest. Internal sources as the name suggest is from friends family and the saving element and external is all that which leads to the payment of interest basically borrowed funds from sources such as banks, financial institutions etc. (Feldman Bolino, 2000; Fielden et al., 2003; Fitzgerald and Muske, 2002; Leazar, 2002). The small and medium firms in the initial stage cannot afford to bear any additional cost and the interest element also becomes a burden for them and they are mostly concerned with the internal sources of finance i.e. the money invested in the firms by family and friends (Lee Mathews, 1999; Hisrich, 1986). The other aspect of business is the big business houses which have their operation on a large scale and the finance is procured by them from banks and other leading financial institutions. Optimum Use of Resources Resources are the tools and materials which form the crux of any organization and making a proper use of the same plays a very important role in the growth and overall development of the organization. It is vital to make the best possible use of resources as in small towns the scope of business activities is limited as compared to big cities wherein the opportunities as well as the resources required are more and readily available Gimeno, 1997; Gray, 1993; Gatewood et al., 1995; Gundry Welsch, 2001) Resources are portrayed as being distanced from main markets and main centres of business activity, have lower and more dispersed population, a weaker infrastructure, local markets are limited due to lower population. Despite the apparent difficulties in starting up and running a business to towns, the number of businesses has grownà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. (Anderson, 1997) Problems in Starting Up a Business When starting up a business, the owner is bound to face some problems. There are basic steps and procedures that should be followed by the entrepreneur, while starting a business. But the problem arises when the successful implementation of these steps becomes difficult, due to the problems in the market. Sometimes things do no happen in reality as they were expected and also it may take longer time than expected (Martins et al., 2002; Marschack, 1994; Morrison, 2000; Olson, 1992; Praag, 2003; Rainbird, 1991). Major problems in starting up a business can be classified as: Goodwill- When a business is new, it lacks good reputation in the market, which is called Goodwill. In business, it is very important to have goodwill. It means that the business has trustworthy image in the market. Sometimes, just because of lack of goodwill, customers dont trust the company (Reynolds, 2000; Robichaud et al., 2001). Market Prediction- It is essential for the entrepreneur to have the market predictions. The market trends keep on fluctuating. Thus the entrepreneur has to mould himself according to the market situations. If he does not maintain pace with the market trends it becomes very difficult to be in the race. This is not a very easy job (Robinson, 1994; Shane, 1995; Smith, 2000). Financial Gap- The existence of a financial gap arises because demand from small firms is greater than the willingness of financial institutions to supply the finance at current market conditions. For finance such as bank loans, these gaps may be termed as credit rationing (Stanworth Stanworth, 1997). Getting the premises in prime location- Getting a good location to set up the business is a very big issue. The entrepreneur should keep in mind to get the best location. If the location is good and is very close to all the available resources then he can grab the opportunities of using these resources (Taylor, 1980). Judging the customer expectations- It is very hard to match the ever changing expectation and demands of the customers. It is very difficult to have an exact idea about the choice of the customers. In this case it becomes very difficult for the new firms to have an idea about the customer expectations (Timmons et al., 1985). Small and Medium Enterprises in the United Kingdom Source: http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/smestats2008-ukspr.pdf. According to the department for business innovation and skills the profile of the small and medium scale enterprises are as follows: As per to the reports there were approximately 4.81 million private sector enterprises in the UK during the starting of 2008, which showed the increase of 104,0003 (2.2 per cent) since the start of 2007. These are the highest levels after the time series began in 1994. Approximately, 23.1 million people were employed by these enterprises with an estimated combined annual turnover of  £3,000 billion. Moreover, 99.9 percent of all enterprises were together accounts by the Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 59.4 per cent of private sector employment and 50.1 percent of private sector turnover. Employment in SMEs is estimated at 13.7 million, 287,000 (2.1 per cent) higher than in 2007.Turnover in SMEs is estimated at  £1,500 billion,  £61 billion (4.2 per cent) higher than 2007.More industries experienced growth in the number of enterprises between the start of 2007 and the start of 2008, than experienced a fall. In percentage terms, the biggest increases were in the Mining and Quarrying; Electricity, Gas and Water Supply (19.3 per cent) and Financial Intermediation (10.2 per cent) sectors and the biggest falls in the number of enterprises were in the Manufacturing (- 6.9 per cent) and Other Community, Social and Personal Service Activities (-4.7per cent) sectors (http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/smestats2008-ukspr.pdf).à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? As such, out of the 4.81 million private enterprises in the United Kingdom, 99.9 percent are classified as small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and they are responsible for 59.4 percent of employment in the country as well as 50.1 percent of private sector turnover. The sector also experienced growth from 2007 to 2008 (http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/smestats2008-ukspr.pdf). Most of these private enterprises are (see Table 1) small which is 99.3 percent of the total and they employ about 0 to 49 employees per enterprise while the medium enterprises is 0.6 percent which numbered at 27,000 enterprises and employs from 50 to 249 employees per firm. The large enterprises employs more than 250 employees per firm percent which numbered at 27,000 enterprises and employs from 50 to 249 employees per firm. ISSUES FOR SMEs AND ENTREPRENEURS According to Deakins and Freel (2003), small and medium sized firms do not easily get finance because of the restrictions imposed on them. Notably these SMEs have very less equity and very high risk is associated with them. As a result, most of the sources of finance are not accessible, for instance Stock Exchange. There are mainly two sources that entrepreneurs use that is Internal Source and External Source. Internal source includes personal equity, which are usually remortgages, savings and money taken from friends and family members. While external sources of finance comprises loan taken from bank, venture capitalist, formal investors. Few more sources include leasing, hire purchase and factoring. However, there are various sources of finance available for the SMEs; it is worth discussing the problems faced by the entrepreneurs and constraints of financing. Major issues for SMEs are Financial gap Getting finance from bank Role of security Credit scoring Financial Gap: It mainly occurs when the financial need of SMEs is not fulfilled by financial institutions because of the current market conditions the present situation (credit crunch) further adding problems to the same. It happens when the demand side of the curve exceeds the supply. However, it is still a debatable topic whether this gap is the result of information asymmetries or it is due to the reputational effects. Informational asymmetries are basically considered as the imperfect information provided to the financing institutions, which suggests that there will be insufficient funds available for the firms (Stiglits and Weiss, 1981). According to Shane and Cable (2008), it is likely that few firms specially manufacturing and technology based companies are often reluctant to give full information about their company to avoid the disclosure which can make it easier for others to use it. Moreover, there are few more categories which can face financial gap, such as young entrepreneurs and those who belong to remote areas. Young entrepreneurs mainly lack to provide the security, while for the entrepreneurs in the remote areas, it is quite difficult to get access with the banks (OCED, 2008) Getting finance from bank: However, banks are easily accessible; it is less likely that entrepreneurs get favourable offers from them. Short-term financing given by banks only looks theoretically attractive. Besides, banks also face issue in assessing the proposition from the borrower, which generally arises when both provider and borrower share different set of information. For banks, two main issues are: Adverse Selection Moral Hazard Adverse Selection: This arises when a bank is unable to assess a proposition correctly. For instance, when it refuses to provide for a proposition which could have been successful or when it accepts the position which results as failure. Moral Hazard: It causes more serious problem for banks and ultimately causes problems for the entrepreneurs having less/no security to offer. It can occur when a firm misuses the security-free financing from the banks, as there is no guarantee taken from the firm to repay the loan. This is a monitoring problem for banks and for comparatively smaller amount of loans; it is not economic to observe them closely. However, this creates problem for the entrepreneurs who lack sufficient equity and security. Role of security: This has now been widely used to overcome the shortcomings like moral hazard and adverse selection. However, bank officers can also choose to have frequent monitoring of the information to reduce the adverse selection, a cost minimisation approach (role of security) seems to be a better option. Furthermore, collateral seems to be a better option because it ensures commitment from the borrower and allows bank to make safer deal. It also enhances the chances of loss recovery in case of adverse selection. Credit Scoring:- Nowadays, this computerized technique has been widely used by banks. Credit scoring is based on considering various variables of the borrower such as, occupation, post code of home address, previous payment records and other commitments Taking all the above mentioned things into consideration, a computerized acceptance or rejection report is generated. Credit scoring has brought a remarkable reduction in decision making for the bank managers. In most of the leading banks of UK like NatWest, Barclays, Lloyds/TSB, Bank of Scotland, use different systems to measure credit of the loan applicant. Albeit, few above mentioned banks have adopted this technique completely, there are some banks still relying and using both methods (Credit scoring and decision making) However, credit scoring has proved to be a boon for the banks, it has some demerits as well. It only judges the applications on the basis of past records. This technique may reject the proposal which sounds beneficial and successful but dont have good credit history and past records. Study On The Financial Sources For SMEs Study On The Financial Sources For SMEs Introduction SMEs are those industries, which are unquoted in a stock exchange, run by few individuals or a type of family businesses having connection with shareholders. According to South West Venture Fund, SME is a company or business that has less than 250 employees and has an annual turnover not exceeding approximately  £24 million. SME sector is very large in UK economy. There are 3.7 million businesses in UK according to the survey conducted in 2003 by Department of Trade and Industries (DTI) and 99% of those are small and medium sized and survey also suggested that UK gains 50% of its total turnover from SME sector. On the other hand according to the report of HM Treasury 2008 there are 4.7 million SMEs in the UK and are responsible for more than 52 per cent of total UK business turnover. Therefore it can be seen that SMEs have an important role to play to drive UK growth and the average productivity of SMEs has increased in the last ten years. On the other hand SMEs are struggling in accessing to finance whereas there are many sources of finance available in UK. The main problem with SMEs to obtain finance is that of uncertainty. Investors most of the time dont rely on SMEs in investing because SMEs does not have a long track record of success. Banks are quite nerves of SMEs to investment because SMEs represent high credit risk. The problem is, banks are not increasing the loan amount without increasing security given and most of the SME owners are unable to provide security. There are many SMEs without tangible assets to use as a security for all lenders. All the financial sources for SMEs are listed below with brief description. Business Angles Business angles are private individuals who invest their own assets in SME or start-up businesses. Business angles also share their personal business experience with other entrepreneurs. LBA (London Business Angles) provides great services to innovative starting-up businesses who seeks the capital more than  £100 k for their future growth. London Business Angle runs by Greater London Enterprise (GLE). The main reason behind investing by business angles is that they are very experienced and successful entrepreneurs and they not only provide finance they also train new business through sharing their experience. The fact on the other hand is only few companies can find business angles, LBA receive 1000 business plan and after the whole selection procedure only 42 business have been invited to invest with. Another group of business angles BBAA (British Business Angles Association) is also working to provide financial help to early stage businesses. Every year private individual or these business angles invest between  £800 million to  £1 billion in starting-up business and SMEs. Overdraft Financing Overdraft financing is another most popular way of accessing to finance for SMEs. In overdraft financing, payments are made from the current account of business when the amount exceeds the available balance. Through the overdraft facility business gets short-term funds whereas the amount which is loaned is repayable according to the bank demand. There are some benefits of overdraft facilities such as the borrowed amount can be changed within the limit and interest is only payable on the amount borrowed. The main disadvantages of overdrafts are, bank can ask to pay back the money very sooner than expected time, overdraft limit can be changed at any time by the bank, overdraft facility cannot be used if large amount is needed and the interest rate is higher than the bank loan. Some other factors must be considered when using overdraft facility to obtain finance. Such as the amount that is borrowed should not go beyond the given or agreed limit, interest also differs according to the am ount borrowed and the interest rate is higher than the bank base rate , sometime bank can charge the overdraft fee and finally overdraft cannot be obtained for long term. One more difficulty for SMEs to obtain finance through overdraft is SMEs can be asked to provide some kind of security depending on the size of overdraft facility. Security may be of any type for an example it can be tangible fixed assets or personal guarantees given by company directors. Venture Capital Venture capital provides long-term, committed share capital, to help unquoted companies grow and succeed. If an entrepreneur is looking to start-up, expand, buy-into a business, buy-out a business in which he works, turnaround or revitalise a company, venture capital could help do this. Obtaining venture capital is substantially different from raising debt or a loan from a lender. Lenders have a legal right to interest on a loan and repayment of the capital, irrespective of the success or failure of a business . Venture capital is invested in exchange for an equity stake in the business. As a shareholder, the venture capitalists return is dependent on the growth and profitability of the business. This return is generally earned when the venture capitalist exits by selling its shareholding when the business is sold to another owner. Venture capital in the UK originated in the late 18th century, when entrepreneurs found wealthy individuals to back their projects on an ad hoc basis. This informal method of financing became an industry in the late 1970s and early 1980s when a number of venture capital firms were founded. There are now over 100 active venture capital firms in the UK, which provide several billion pounds each year to unquoted companies mostly located in the UK. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Introduction It being any country, small and medium enterprises has become an integral part of it and provides remarkable contribution to its economy. SMEs play a pivotal role in job creation and in progress of country. Like UK, many countries now understand the importance of small business and started to diversify it for job creation and also for the long term development of the countrys economy. . SMEs constitute the majority of economies around the world, these highly contribute in private sector and one of which seems to be growing in folds with time. According to the reports of Bank of England (2003), approximately 54% of the total value is added by small and medium firms in the UK. In fact, in some sectors SMEs have contributed more than larger firms Entrepreneur and Entrepreneurship The word entrepreneur has been defined numerous times by the researchers in their research. There is no specific definition of entrepreneurship but there is a generally accepted definition which highlights its significant contribution in the growth of economy. An entrepreneur has the ability to provide momentum for the change, innovation in the traditional strategies and approach. They always try to introduce new ideas in the business market. Entrepreneur is someone who can gauge the financial risk during the business startup and has the ability to capitalize the opportunity of benefit of an enterprise. Besides, various researchers have determined different characteristics of an entrepreneur. For instance, according to Adler, 2002; Aldrich, 1989; Alstete, 2003; Anderson et al, 1992; Anna et al, 1999, an entrepreneur is very creative, skilful, innovative and always keen to explore new ideas and strategies. While, according to others the traits are Hunger for achievement Desire of total control Need of independence and leadership Low traditionalism Risk taker Dominance Moreover, Yonekura in 1984 suggested the characteristics like assertiveness, insistence, forward looking, critical thinking, creative, innovative, broad minded, creative etc. On the other hand, Burk (2002) proposed that optimistic, hard working and desire to achieve are the qualities which are common in entrepreneurs. There are various reasons for people to choose entrepreneurship and start their own business. This area has also been widely researched (Walker, 2004). Result of most of the studies done in this area show that people are motivated by personal and financial reasons like achievement need, independence, and the creation of wealth (Bird, 1989; Birley and Westhead, 1994; Burns, 1996; Hisrich, 1986; Kuratko et al., 1997). Generally, most of the studies suggest that personal internal reasons are more important motivations as compared to financial reasons in going into entrepreneurship (Gray, 1993). Despite of the above mentioned reasons, his/her present job situation also plays an important part and can influence them for business adoption. According to the Moore and Buttner (1997), unfavorable conditions experienced within the organization, for instance- lack of opportunities and less salary may also push them to start their own business. Furthermore, people who are jobless are also sometimes forced to become entrepreneurs (Still and Guerin, 1991), even though the clarity of the entry of business and its form are not that clear to them at the start (Praag, 2003; Vodopivec, 1998; Walker, 2004; Walker and Brown, 2004; Burke et al., 2002; Burns, 1996; Buttner Moore, 1997; - Process Involved in Business Start up Over the period of time remarkable changes have taken place in the work environment and culture of small and medium enterprises. The failure or the success of any organization depends upon the initial or the kick off stage of the business. The start up of any business activity depends upon the manner or the way in which the business makes arrangements or provisions of funds. The growth of the firm is the most important aspect and has to be done with taking care so that it can grow up to its full potential (Carter et. al., 1996; Carter Anderson, 2001; Carter Cannon, 1988; Chaganti Parasuraman, 1996; Cliff, 1998). Steps involved in the start up of any business activity can be classified as under:- Business Start up:- The theoretical aspects behind the set up or start up of any business are quite different from the practical ones which can be classified as under:- The creation of an idea Theory:- The start-up of the business by the entrepreneur begins with the setting of an idea. Idea is the stepping stone on which the business relies and most of the aspects of the business are considered in the initial idea itself. There are pros and corns to everything and in the business set-up the setting of idea itself leads to the same. Opportunity Recognition The recognition of the right opportunity at the right point in time is what the entrepreneur must be able do. The task of recognizing opportunity for the same is not an easy task at all. There may be loads of opportunities which arise in the market like they may be in the form of a new product or service that has to be offered to the customer (Kotler, 1972; Deshpande, 1983). Research of the market and forming of the Business plan Research plays a key role before the starting up any activity and business also demands for the same i.e. to conduct research and then formulate a business plan. The key role in set up of any business plan is by carrying out SWOT analysis of the same which means to recognize the Strength Weakness Opportunities and Threats that the organization has to offer (Kotler, 1990; Dyer, 1994). Finance Arrangement Finance is the blood stream of any organization and without the induction of finance no organization can operate. There are loads of sources available for the firms both small and medium sized. Basically for the small and medium enterprises there are mainly two sources of finance internal and external. The basic difference between the internal and external source is the element of interest. Internal sources as the name suggest is from friends family and the saving element and external is all that which leads to the payment of interest basically borrowed funds from sources such as banks, financial institutions etc. (Feldman Bolino, 2000; Fielden et al., 2003; Fitzgerald and Muske, 2002; Leazar, 2002). The small and medium firms in the initial stage cannot afford to bear any additional cost and the interest element also becomes a burden for them and they are mostly concerned with the internal sources of finance i.e. the money invested in the firms by family and friends (Lee Mathews, 1999; Hisrich, 1986). The other aspect of business is the big business houses which have their operation on a large scale and the finance is procured by them from banks and other leading financial institutions. Optimum Use of Resources Resources are the tools and materials which form the crux of any organization and making a proper use of the same plays a very important role in the growth and overall development of the organization. It is vital to make the best possible use of resources as in small towns the scope of business activities is limited as compared to big cities wherein the opportunities as well as the resources required are more and readily available Gimeno, 1997; Gray, 1993; Gatewood et al., 1995; Gundry Welsch, 2001) Resources are portrayed as being distanced from main markets and main centres of business activity, have lower and more dispersed population, a weaker infrastructure, local markets are limited due to lower population. Despite the apparent difficulties in starting up and running a business to towns, the number of businesses has grownà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. (Anderson, 1997) Problems in Starting Up a Business When starting up a business, the owner is bound to face some problems. There are basic steps and procedures that should be followed by the entrepreneur, while starting a business. But the problem arises when the successful implementation of these steps becomes difficult, due to the problems in the market. Sometimes things do no happen in reality as they were expected and also it may take longer time than expected (Martins et al., 2002; Marschack, 1994; Morrison, 2000; Olson, 1992; Praag, 2003; Rainbird, 1991). Major problems in starting up a business can be classified as: Goodwill- When a business is new, it lacks good reputation in the market, which is called Goodwill. In business, it is very important to have goodwill. It means that the business has trustworthy image in the market. Sometimes, just because of lack of goodwill, customers dont trust the company (Reynolds, 2000; Robichaud et al., 2001). Market Prediction- It is essential for the entrepreneur to have the market predictions. The market trends keep on fluctuating. Thus the entrepreneur has to mould himself according to the market situations. If he does not maintain pace with the market trends it becomes very difficult to be in the race. This is not a very easy job (Robinson, 1994; Shane, 1995; Smith, 2000). Financial Gap- The existence of a financial gap arises because demand from small firms is greater than the willingness of financial institutions to supply the finance at current market conditions. For finance such as bank loans, these gaps may be termed as credit rationing (Stanworth Stanworth, 1997). Getting the premises in prime location- Getting a good location to set up the business is a very big issue. The entrepreneur should keep in mind to get the best location. If the location is good and is very close to all the available resources then he can grab the opportunities of using these resources (Taylor, 1980). Judging the customer expectations- It is very hard to match the ever changing expectation and demands of the customers. It is very difficult to have an exact idea about the choice of the customers. In this case it becomes very difficult for the new firms to have an idea about the customer expectations (Timmons et al., 1985). Small and Medium Enterprises in the United Kingdom Source: http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/smestats2008-ukspr.pdf. According to the department for business innovation and skills the profile of the small and medium scale enterprises are as follows: As per to the reports there were approximately 4.81 million private sector enterprises in the UK during the starting of 2008, which showed the increase of 104,0003 (2.2 per cent) since the start of 2007. These are the highest levels after the time series began in 1994. Approximately, 23.1 million people were employed by these enterprises with an estimated combined annual turnover of  £3,000 billion. Moreover, 99.9 percent of all enterprises were together accounts by the Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 59.4 per cent of private sector employment and 50.1 percent of private sector turnover. Employment in SMEs is estimated at 13.7 million, 287,000 (2.1 per cent) higher than in 2007.Turnover in SMEs is estimated at  £1,500 billion,  £61 billion (4.2 per cent) higher than 2007.More industries experienced growth in the number of enterprises between the start of 2007 and the start of 2008, than experienced a fall. In percentage terms, the biggest increases were in the Mining and Quarrying; Electricity, Gas and Water Supply (19.3 per cent) and Financial Intermediation (10.2 per cent) sectors and the biggest falls in the number of enterprises were in the Manufacturing (- 6.9 per cent) and Other Community, Social and Personal Service Activities (-4.7per cent) sectors (http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/smestats2008-ukspr.pdf).à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? As such, out of the 4.81 million private enterprises in the United Kingdom, 99.9 percent are classified as small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and they are responsible for 59.4 percent of employment in the country as well as 50.1 percent of private sector turnover. The sector also experienced growth from 2007 to 2008 (http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/smestats2008-ukspr.pdf). Most of these private enterprises are (see Table 1) small which is 99.3 percent of the total and they employ about 0 to 49 employees per enterprise while the medium enterprises is 0.6 percent which numbered at 27,000 enterprises and employs from 50 to 249 employees per firm. The large enterprises employs more than 250 employees per firm percent which numbered at 27,000 enterprises and employs from 50 to 249 employees per firm. ISSUES FOR SMEs AND ENTREPRENEURS According to Deakins and Freel (2003), small and medium sized firms do not easily get finance because of the restrictions imposed on them. Notably these SMEs have very less equity and very high risk is associated with them. As a result, most of the sources of finance are not accessible, for instance Stock Exchange. There are mainly two sources that entrepreneurs use that is Internal Source and External Source. Internal source includes personal equity, which are usually remortgages, savings and money taken from friends and family members. While external sources of finance comprises loan taken from bank, venture capitalist, formal investors. Few more sources include leasing, hire purchase and factoring. However, there are various sources of finance available for the SMEs; it is worth discussing the problems faced by the entrepreneurs and constraints of financing. Major issues for SMEs are Financial gap Getting finance from bank Role of security Credit scoring Financial Gap: It mainly occurs when the financial need of SMEs is not fulfilled by financial institutions because of the current market conditions the present situation (credit crunch) further adding problems to the same. It happens when the demand side of the curve exceeds the supply. However, it is still a debatable topic whether this gap is the result of information asymmetries or it is due to the reputational effects. Informational asymmetries are basically considered as the imperfect information provided to the financing institutions, which suggests that there will be insufficient funds available for the firms (Stiglits and Weiss, 1981). According to Shane and Cable (2008), it is likely that few firms specially manufacturing and technology based companies are often reluctant to give full information about their company to avoid the disclosure which can make it easier for others to use it. Moreover, there are few more categories which can face financial gap, such as young entrepreneurs and those who belong to remote areas. Young entrepreneurs mainly lack to provide the security, while for the entrepreneurs in the remote areas, it is quite difficult to get access with the banks (OCED, 2008) Getting finance from bank: However, banks are easily accessible; it is less likely that entrepreneurs get favourable offers from them. Short-term financing given by banks only looks theoretically attractive. Besides, banks also face issue in assessing the proposition from the borrower, which generally arises when both provider and borrower share different set of information. For banks, two main issues are: Adverse Selection Moral Hazard Adverse Selection: This arises when a bank is unable to assess a proposition correctly. For instance, when it refuses to provide for a proposition which could have been successful or when it accepts the position which results as failure. Moral Hazard: It causes more serious problem for banks and ultimately causes problems for the entrepreneurs having less/no security to offer. It can occur when a firm misuses the security-free financing from the banks, as there is no guarantee taken from the firm to repay the loan. This is a monitoring problem for banks and for comparatively smaller amount of loans; it is not economic to observe them closely. However, this creates problem for the entrepreneurs who lack sufficient equity and security. Role of security: This has now been widely used to overcome the shortcomings like moral hazard and adverse selection. However, bank officers can also choose to have frequent monitoring of the information to reduce the adverse selection, a cost minimisation approach (role of security) seems to be a better option. Furthermore, collateral seems to be a better option because it ensures commitment from the borrower and allows bank to make safer deal. It also enhances the chances of loss recovery in case of adverse selection. Credit Scoring:- Nowadays, this computerized technique has been widely used by banks. Credit scoring is based on considering various variables of the borrower such as, occupation, post code of home address, previous payment records and other commitments Taking all the above mentioned things into consideration, a computerized acceptance or rejection report is generated. Credit scoring has brought a remarkable reduction in decision making for the bank managers. In most of the leading banks of UK like NatWest, Barclays, Lloyds/TSB, Bank of Scotland, use different systems to measure credit of the loan applicant. Albeit, few above mentioned banks have adopted this technique completely, there are some banks still relying and using both methods (Credit scoring and decision making) However, credit scoring has proved to be a boon for the banks, it has some demerits as well. It only judges the applications on the basis of past records. This technique may reject the proposal which sounds beneficial and successful but dont have good credit history and past records.

The Pros and Cons of Contracting Out In The Public Sector Essay

Advantages and Disadvantages of Contracting Out In The Public Sector Introduction Many public agencies in recent years have followed the trend of privatization, or contracting-out. Activities and functions that were once performed, or services that were once provided, by public employees are now being performed by private sector employees (Lyons). Vehicle towing, health services, police protection, and solid waste collection are among the many services and functions that government has contracted out. A survey in 1995 that was sent to mayors or city managers of America's largest cities (based on population) revealed that only three of the 66 cities that responded to the survey had not privatized any city services. http://fpac.fsu.edu/parbaby/pdf/1997/janfeb/dilger.pdf This trend translates to not only an administrative concerns but a staffing concern faced by many managers. Privatization As A Staffing Concern Replacement Of Civil Servants By Contract Employees Privatization of governmental functions has a direct relationship with the number of contract employees in government and an inverse relationship with the number of civil servants. As privatization has become more acceptable, contract employees are being hired to do the jobs, thus, replacing civil servants. As indicated by Gregg Lodan, Assistant Administrative Analyst for the City of Long Beach Community Development Department, approximately 20% of the department’s employees are contract employees, as opposed to approximately 5% three years ago. He stated that other departments and other cities might have even higher percentages because functions of whole departments or individual functions are now being considered for privatization (Lodan). In India... ...3. International City Management Association. Service Delivery in the 90's: Alternative Approaches for Local Governments: Washington D.C.: International City Management Association, 1989. Lodan, Gregg and Jesus Gomez. Personal interview. November 18, 1998. Lyons, James. "Contracting Out for Public School Support Services." Education Urban Society, Feb. 1, 1995: 154 Pinchot, Gifford, and Elizabeth Pinchot. The End of Bureaucracy & the Rise of the Intelligent Organization. San Francisco: Berrett, 1993: 180. Rehfuss, John A. Contracting Out in Government. San Francisco: Jossey, 1989 Wolfe, Michael N. "That's Not an Employee, That's an Independent Contractor." Compensation & Benefits Review, July-August, 1996: 60-64. Nigro, Lloyd G., and Felix A. Nigro. The New Public Personnel Administration. Itasca, Illinois: F.E. Peacock Publishers, Inc., 1994.

Personal Goals Essay -- English Literature Essays

Personal Goals As most of my peers, I have been asking myself a question, what do I want out of my life? This question bothers many people, and not only the college students who are trying to figure out the path that will lead them to the comfortable life. One might ask, what is that comfort that we all are striving for? Is it a state of mind or is it some unknown world that we are so eager to enter. It varies from person to person; there are several aspects, such the way were raised, making, of our lives that could influence a person and the future decisions that we’ll make. The biggest part of our decision-making is the way we were raised and the culture we have gotten used to. Many Americans believe that the success depends on the family background that we have. There are those who say that if the person was raised in a rich family, all opportunities are available to them and there is a high chance that this person will live a comfortable life. The same people say that if the person was raised in a poor family there are too many obstacles to overcome and most of the time these barriers on the way are too hard to cross. On the other hand, there are those people who say that the America is a land of opportunities and any person could achieve their goals if they set their mind to it. Sarah, a good friend was born in a rich family. She never had to worry about the basic needs like food, shelter or security, and all the resources were provided thanks to the excessive amo...

Comparing Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience and Kings Letter From a Birming

Comparing Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience and Martin Luther King's Letter From a Birmingham Jail The two essays, "Civil Disobedience," by Henry David Thoreau, and "Letter From a Birmingham Jail," by Martin Luther King, Jr., effectively illustrate the authors' opinions of justice. Each author has his main point; Thoreau, in dealing with justice as it relates to government, asks for "not at once no government, but at once a better government. King contends that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Both essays offer a complete argument for justice, but, given the conditions, King's essay remains more effective, in that its persuasive techniques have more practical application. Both essays extensively implement both emotional and ethical appeal to give their respective ideas validity. One persuasive technique that each author implements to support his ideas emotionally is the use of biblical allusion. However, in comparison, King's use is stronger in that the tone of his allusions is more appealing to the reader. King's allusions cause the reader to want take action against injustice, whereas Thoreau's are darker -- more likely to make the reader want to submit to and accept the injustices portrayed. For example, King, in his first biblical allusion, manages to draw glory into his struggle by comparing himself with the Apostle Paul, feeling "compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my particular home town," just as Paul "left his little village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to practically every hamlet and city in the Graeco-Roman world.. . ." This stirs admiration in the reader for King and adds relevance to his struggle. Later King discusses the history of his style of civil dis... ...ide: ". . .one does not remain inert to make way for the other, but both obey their own laws, and spring and grow and flourish as best they can, till one, perchance, overshadows and destroys the other." All three of these comparisons, while being beneficial to the essay's main idea, are too obscure and irrelevant to have any real persuasive power. Granted, both essays effectively implement both emotional and ethical appeal to the reader in order to be persuasive, and each, given the right conditions has the potential to be equally effective. But, given the conditions we are under, including the time frame, ("Civil Disobedience" was written over one hundred years before "Letter From a Birmingham Jail") King's essay, overall, features more of the characteristics, as well as the accessibility to produce a higher level of comprehension and relevance for the reader.