Assessment Centres: Advantages and Disadvantages

sagaciousness Centres Advantages and Disadvantages mind subject matters were introduced at the middle of the 20th century. It to a fault dos the idea and use of judicial decision snapper. It uses to tinkle the aptitude and skills of the employees. History of legal opinion marrow squashs explore, how and why opinion centres divine service us to appreciate, what the ascendantal user were trying to nab and how earth-closet be assessed the skills, attitudes, person-to-person skills and abilities as well as k instanterledge of the participants with the help of interview, recitations and leading practice.Basically, the origin of judging centres started for the driveion of the soldier in the Germany. That conviction there was a great frustration between the boundaries of the countries due to the atmosphere of the war, and e accredited land wanted to delineatePrestige on the other countries. So, judging centres utilize to check the energy and quality of the employe es, and referred the send according to his knowledge and capabilities. We crumb be seen certain example throughout the history. Germany use to check the aptitude and consummation to select the officers. In the book Spies and Saboteurs, by Dr W.J.Morgan (1955, London skipper Gollancz Ltd), the author describe how a German psychologist, Dr Sim matchlessit watched officer performing a variety of tasks.The duties of sound judgement centres were to check the abilities thorough different implications of test and molds. It to a fault go over the rate and standard of the officers and according to this, the promotions pass water got been announced by the army. This mould had been started because it showed the performance and their promotions. It also explored the certain reasons, why certain offices did non reveal or proceed in the way. They would have been promoted once.After this, the assessment centres emerged from Germany to USA. USA was virtuoso of the fast growing econom ies and USA used to figure the ability of the spy. It also used select the officers for intelligence. For checking of mental ability of officers they used except research of psychological and scientific method had been to add the mould by assessment centres. The concept of assessment centres populated in different economy from one side of the world to another part of the world. British Government checks the qualities of on board alternative committee and testing method. British government added more(prenominal) tests and exercises analysing the capability, British were pioneers to add the physical and psychological tests during an interviews and selections for employees.Dr WJ Morgan illustrates that it is how you performed your tasks, whether as an individual or within a sort, that matters not how quickly an exercise was done.With the passage of the time, it growth and, different business have been adopted by different countries. Then or so(prenominal) businesses used the as sessment centres to assessing the hold affairs to employees. just sometimes man has more ability further at the position sometimes, it lot be showed by an makeup. In this matter the assessment centres help the makeup as well as to emerged the capabilities of the employees and the employees have better opportunities to do best.It is right that an assessment centres started for militaries bias to check the abilities but now it very common in between every aspect of the life such as businesses and other public service as well. Now in this era, there is a great competition in the world, so, it is not well task to check the capabilities of any employees. So in this matter assessment centres is helpful to check the abilities and capabilities through the interviews and exercises the personalisedity of the employees.(http//www.psychometric-success.com/faq/faq-assessment-centre-origin.htm)INTRODUCTION OF estimation CENTERSAn discernment Centres does not refer to a location,DEFINE ASSESSMENT CENTERS It back tooth be usefully defined as A method for assessing aptitude and performance applied to a group of participants by trained tax assessors using various aptitude diagnostic shapees in order to obtain information more or less appli dropts abilities or development potential.Assessment Centres be mostly utilized in the initial stages of the selection process this is due large amount of time and expenditure complicated in it. This is followed by initial employment interview. Assessment centres involve assembling in one place several campaigners who applying for the alike position and putting them through a variety of different tests. They stinker be operated over one day, but ordinarily involve an all-night stay.Assessment Centres ar seen as one of the most effective ship screwingal of identifying top candidates wholl get on well with others and fit in with the organizations culture. con diversity to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Developm ents Recruitment, Retention and Turnover 2009 Survey, 34% of employers now use assessment Centres when recruiting managers, professionals and refines.(http//www.psychometric-success.com/psychometric-tests/psychometric-tests-assessment- core groups.htm)IMPLEMENTATION OF ASSESSMENT CENTERSImplementation of assessment centres should be carried out properly. When the structure and content of the assessment centre have been established, the issues involved are organising, managing and giving proper reignion.The assessment centres should have a paradigm of activities that allow candidates to demonstrate teach skill more than once during the turn tail of the centre.The range of activities should considered exercises that sample job content and mirror real-life situations.The assessment centres should have different department heads which can manage too many candidates or too many exercises and maintain a sensible ratio of assessors to candidates.The assessment centres should have prop er clear goal in mind so that they achieve the success.Adopt a competency-based approach with assessment criteria appropriate to the laughingstock consumption.Training is necessary for assessors in technical areas, such as ceremonial and interview techniques, and raises their awareness of diversity issues.Feedback should be given to both the made as well as unsuccessful candidates.The assessment centres activities should regularly recall to avoid over-familiarity on the part of candidates and assessors.DESIGN OF A SUCCESSFUL ASSESSMENT CENTERThe successful assessment centre is well defined on how well it has been knowing. Before designing its best to review the nature and advise of an assessment centre. The alpha feature is to consider the skills and abilities assessed are actually germane(predicate) to the job in question. An assessment centre is a step further in selection procedure, it is held either on employers premises or in a hotel, which normally lasts one or two d ays. The process which usually involves in designing is as followsWhile designing the assessment centre the time duration of the centre is taken into friendship. For instance, for senior most muckle, one day might not be sufficient.The second most historic criteria is the location of the assessment centre, which deals with the proper surroundings and accessibility for candidates.Create a Task list and match with roles and goals given by the company.Create a questionnaire related to the task list.Use the competencies well through knowledge and skills. opposite TYPES OF COMPETENCIESDifferent competencies generally are developed as framework to be used as a reference or resource. The purpose of the resources database is to embolden users to identify the many existing competency-based resources currently in use. The database is not exhaustive, but contains numerous examples of the resources that were tapped to identify competencies in the development of the high growth industries. A competency is demonstrated or mastered in a job and can be easily transferred to another job. These resources generally contain descriptive information about the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for success in the field.Managerial CompetenciesThe competencies which are considered to be important for staff with managerial or supervisory obligation with sizeable budget to manage, which includes directors and senior posts.Some managerial competencies could be more relevant for specific fields hitherto they are applied in the organization. These competencies include1) Team leadership2) Change charge3) Analysis and decision-making.4) social sensitivity.Technical/ Functional CompetenciesSome specific competencies which are taken into consideration to perform any job in the institution within a defined technical or positional area of work. Those competencies are as follows1) Industrial process sectors.2) Finance and administration3) Human resource concern and environmental management.Generic CompetenciesCompetencies which are considered essential for all staff, regardless of their function or level include1) Communication programme execution.2) Processing tools.3) lineage awareness.4) Achievement and motivation.STEPS INVOLVED FOR SUCCESSFUL ASSESSMENT CENTREThe assessment centre should be very clear about the objectives. They should have a proper planning and organising of all the departments which are involved with them for two or three days.The assessor should look for different competencies which are existence evaluated in the assessment centre.When the assessor is assessing the candidates working environment is taken into consideration.The assessment centres should be well known for their good and different variety of exercise so that the candidates feel motivated.The vital step involved for successful assessment centre is giving feedback to everybody. Successful as well as those candidates who did not get selected.MAIN ELEMENTS OF ASSEMENTS CE NTERSElements of assessment centres are used in anglicising and zeroing in on relevant behaviours to be assessed and evaluated. The assessment centre use different exercises and techniques to select or assess the candidates. The assessor carefully examines the candidates while the candidates are doing exercises, on the bases of performance the candidate which has potential or capable for the job they got selected. The assessors who are selected for conducting interview they are trained, the assessor must be remote of the organisation or the organisation ineluctably to hire them or it should be from organisation itself like the HR managers. The assessor retains the candidates and records the observed behaviour of the participants. The assessment centre does job analyses before conducting interviews. There are seven important share of the assessment centrePRESENTATIONIn the interview process this is the most important exercise because the assessor or the management team up firm ness of purpose assess the candidates, in this exercise the candidate gets a topic and they have to prepare that topic in specific time and that topics are highly job specific. The candidates shows their conversation skills, problem solving skills, and confidence level, how they interact with the assessor. meeting INTERVIEWSThe purpose of the group interview in the assessment centre exercises is to observe candidates interpersonal skills and personality when he or she is working with other people in a group. After the group interview, the assessors reduced the number of candidates and one-on- one interview is set up. The important employers working in organisation can check the candidates interactions with other people. In the group interview the employees give the candidates a task to solve hypothetical problems in order to work in a group.3) IN-TRAY EXERCISESIn this kind of exercises the employers involves the candidates in some paperwork from the role in question and asking them to deal with it. The in-tray exercise items provide be specifically designed to measure job skills such as ability to organise and prioritize work analytically skills, written communication skills, and their delegation. In-tray exercise are the most vital components of assessment centres, not only because of variety of skills, attitudes and knowledge can be judged but because this exercise also has vast face validity. In this way the candidate can see how it relates to the job they are applying for and therefore they tend to take it seriously.4) ROLE-PLAYS manipulation take over is a type of assessment centre exercise which offers a chance to place candidates in the kind of situation. In role converge the candidates get the role of employee who has to resolve the problems of the customer. In this exercise the management team assess the candidates who have problem solving skills and see that how they communicate in that situation and how they can handle. The assessor usually pla ys the role of the customer and the candidates play the role of the employee.5) PSYCHOMETRIC EXERCISEPsychometric test assess the ability and personality test, the assessment centre hire the professional assessor it is costly. The external assessor are qualified, they can manage the recruitment process, interpret results and give feedback to the candidates so they can know about their strength and their weakness. The two types of psychometric testsABILITY TESTThe rough ability test, it can be checked that and purified the ability of the employees by assessment centres. It is also helpful to check the skills and ability for the vacancy. Ability testing is a very common and effective selection tool, particularly for identifying unsuitable candidates.PERSONALITY TESTThe personality assessment provides the evidences and direct selection process. It also highlights the area where candidate can work. Personality assessment also provides the opportunity to glimpse in the candidates person ality during the interview. Personal questionnaire is important to provide feedback for candidates as well as it also helps to understand the personal profile of the candidate. The feedback session is the best idea for decision making process for any position. Personality test remains contentious but is astray used in United Kingdom.GROUP EXERCISEInterpersonal competency is usually tested by means of variety of group exercises that a group of four or five candidates carry out together. The end in group exercise is to allow assessors to observe how each candidate behaves in relation to the others. Here the leadership qualities are anglicised and the negotiating skills of the candidates. Some assessment centres give groups some task to complete, which include management games more unremarkably used for developmental purposes.EVALUATIONS OF ASSESSMENT CENTRESThe selection and decision for hiring and promotion of the employees can be made by evaluation of assessment centre. Assessmen t centres also identify the training and development according to requirements and needs of vacancies or positions. The most essential characteristic of assessment centre is to evaluate participants potential and management skills. The emphasis is to identity the selection and promotion decisions of participants are on the introduction of essential job performance dimensions. Deficiencies on critical job dimensions of participants can be anglicised by using training and development purposes. The feedback and employee development suggestions that result from an assessment form the basis for training programs that are designed to ripe performance problems. In an organisation assessment centers can serves as needs assessment programs that identify employee development and hiring needs.ASSESSORSIn the assessment centers the role of an assessor is very vital. The assessors are given their own briefing packs. These packs contain rendering of the exercise and a list of the behaviors or answers that they should be looking for. makeup usually recruit trained additional assessors if required for selection process, however trained internal assessor are used from the centre. This comprises a crew of HR specialists with experience in assessment techniques and line managers.CANDIDATESHere the candidates are also presented with the briefing pack which contains the objectives of task and any information required to complete it. In each exercise, candidates are rated independently by two or more assessors, using behavioral scales for each competency being assessed.TEST VALIDITYADVANTAGES OF ASSESSMENT CENTERSThe most important advantage of an assessment is their flexibility. They are not time-restricted as interviews.The data which is collected by the assessment center helps them to recruit the right candidates for the right position by this process the reliability and validity of the selection decision is improved. The assessment centers which are designed well provide e vidence of the most valid method of predicting a candidates performance in a job. The way in which the assessment center collects data is the most fair and objective to make recruitment decision.Assessment center improves planning and administration. Now a days many organisation choose assessment center for recruiting large number of candidates because to avoid hoodwink interviews and managing the recruitment process.Assessment centers apply these for recruitment such as graduate recruitment, training scheme intakes.The nature of the assessment centre also allows organizations to get closer to the selection process by observing how candidates perform the sort of tasks actually found in the role for which they are being assessed. These sorts of real life exercises can provide a good indicator of a candidates probable future performance.LIMITATIONS OF ASSESSMENT CENTERSAn effective centre requires a considerable investment in time and resources-the design process alone can take many months.Many organizations already have detailed job descriptions and competency frameworks in place, simplifying this part of the design process.Assessment centers are expensive to run but appear to be rated highly by employers and candidates alike. asunder from psychometrics test and interviews, candidates can expect to undertake in-tray exercises, role-plays and group activities, as well as being required to make presentations. grapple should be taken when using high-validity selection methods to ensure that they operate fair and are free of bias against any particular group of candidates. endhttp//www.howto.co.uk/careers/questions-at-interview/assessment_centres/

Implications Of The Policy Ineffectiveness Proposition Economics Essay

Implications Of The polity in pithuality Proposition sparing science EssayThe Phillips Curve states that pompousness depends on expected pretension, cyclical un avocation and tot shocks. It is given by the following equation The rising prices expectations shadower be either adaptive or rational. Early New Classical economic science was largely based the precondition of adaptive expectations, which assumes that people form their expectations of time to come inflation based on recently observed inflation. This assumption implies that in absence of cyclical unemployment or supply shocks, inflation testament expect indefinitely at its new-fashionedst target. It also implies that former(prenominal) inflation influences the on-line(prenominal) enlists and equipment casualtys that people set.If we suppose that the stock of m unmatchabley in the thriftiness increases, the adjustment towards the long expect equilibrium takes time. In distributively extremity that agents find their expectations of inflation to be wrong a certain remainder of their forecasting error would be incorporated into expectations. This means that the long run equilibrium in the providence would simply be reached asymptotically. The organisation would consequently be able to maintain employment above its natural take. sage ExpectationsHowever, m all economists disagree with the assumption of adaptive expectations. New Classical scheme re regularized the assumption of adaptive expectations with that of rational expectations.Under this assumption, anticipated monetary insurance insurance would have no effect on economic activity. However, stochastic shocks to the economy could have short run effects on economic activity. This hypothesis known as the Policy ineffectualness Proposition was proposed in 1976 by Thomas J. Sargent and Neil Wallace. According to the proposition monetary authorities stinkpotnot affect the yield if the sorts argon anticipated. Under this pr oposition, the only guidance monetary authorities can affect the real economy is by making monetary polity less(prenominal) predictable. However, this would increase the variability of end product around its natural rate and is hence not a desirable insurance aim.Policy In effectiveness Proposition and the Sacrifice RatioAn heavy implication of the Policy Ineffectiveness Proposition is that the monetary authorities can reduce inflation without any product or employment cost. If policymakers announce a reduction in property growth, rational agents will lower their inflation expectations proportionately. This is known as the Costless Disinflation Proposition. This in turn implies that the commit ratio, which is basically the passage in output for a reduction in inflation by one percentage point, should be equal to zero.Empirical EvidenceEstimates of the cost of disinflation leave wide. These estimates measured in bourns of the sacrifice ratio have natural surveys. While so me economists argue that a sound monetary policy can reduce inflation without any costs, otherwises estimate that sometimes the sacrifice ratio may have very high values.Sargent (1982) examined the measures that brought extreme inflation under(a) control in several European countries in the twenties including Austria, Hungary, Germany, and Poland. According to him, in each eccentric the inflation stopped unawargons rather than gradually. He studied these countries beca subprogram of the dramatic change in their fiscal policy regime, which in each instance was associated with the end of a hyperinflation. He also abide byd the rapid rise in the high-powered money supply in the months and geezerhood aft(pre titular) the rapid inflation had ended.For Austria he suggested that currency stabilization was achieved very suddenly, and with a cost in increase unemployment and foregone output that was comparatively minor. From the data for Hungary, he inferred that immediately after th e stabilization, unemployment was not any higher than it was one or two grades later. He posited that this could be because the stabilization process had little adverse effect on unemployment. For Poland, he noted that the stabilization of the determine level in January 1924 was accompanied by an abrupt rise in the number of unemployed. another(prenominal) rise occurred in July of 1924. He argued that while the figures indicated substantial unemployment in late 1924, unemployment was not an order of magnitude worse than before the stabilization. The Polish zloty depreciated internationally from late 1925 onward but stabilized in autumn of 1926 at around 72% of its level of January 1924. At the same time, the domestic price level stabilized at about 50% above its level of January 1924. The threatened renewal of inflation has been attributed to the governments premature relaxation of exchange controls and the lean of the central desire to make private loans at insufficient enkind le rates. The stabilization of the German mark was accompanied by increases in output and employment and decreases in unemployment. While 1924 was not a good course for German business, it was much better than 1923. From the figures, he couldnt find much win over evidence of a favourable tradeoff mingled with inflation and output, since the year of spectacular inflation, 1923 was a very bad year for employment and physical production. According to the data, on that point was an evident absence of a trade-off between inflation and real output. However he suggested that the inflation and the associated reduction in real rates of return to high powered money and other government debt were accompanied by real over-investment in many kinds of capital letter goods.He concluded his findings by stating that the innate measures that ended hyperinflation in each of Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Poland were, first, the creation of an case-by-case central edge that was legally committ ed to freeze off the governments demand for additional unsecured credit and, second, a simultaneous variation in the fiscal policy regime. These measures had the effect of binding the government to place its debt with private originateies and foreign governments which would value that debt according to whether it was backed by sufficiently large prospective taxes sexual relation to public expenditures. In each case that he studied, once it became widely understood that the government would not aver on the central depository financial institution for its finances, the inflation terminated and the exchanges stabilized. He farther saw that it was not simply the change magnitude quantity of central bank notes that ca utilize the hyperinflation, since in each case the note circulation continued to grow speedily after the exchange rate and price level had been stabilized.According his findings for the foursome countries, one may conclude that his studies supported the gratuitous disinflation proposition. However in that location have been other studies that do not support this proposition.In his news report What determines the sacrifice ratio?, Laurence Ball investigatedConsiders several OECD countries.Finds that the cost of ending take for inflations can be high. Sacrifice ratio = cumulative output befogged due to the permanent reduction in the inflation rate associated with the disinflationarypolicy. median(a) sacrifice ratio = 0.77% each p.p. reduction in inflation is associated with a 0.77 p.p. loss of output.Sacrifice ratio larger when disinflation muteer, and in countries with greater nominal wage rigidity.Does not support costless disinflation propositionThe New Keynesian Stanley Fischer (1977) applied the insights of Franco Modigliani to the mould employed by Sargent and Wallace. Fischer therefore introduced the assumption that workers distinguish nominal wage contracts that bear for to a greater extent than one period, wages argon sticky. T he outcome is that government policy can be fully effective since although workers rationally expect the outcome of a change in policy, they ar unable to resolve to it as they be locked into expectations organise when they signed their wage contract. It is not only possible for government policy to be used effectively but its use is also desirable. The government is able respond to random shocks to the economy to which agents atomic number 18 unable to react, and so stabilise output and employment.Since it was possible to incorporate the rational expectations hypothesis into macroeconomic models whilst avoiding the stark conclusions that Sargent and Wallace reached, the policy ineffectiveness proposition has had less of a lasting impact on macroeconomic reality than first may have been expected.This applies much more generally. Any consistent set of government policies will be intentional and anticipated by a population with Rational Expectations. Since they are anticipated, t hey will not come as a surprise. Instead, people will switch their short-run aggregate supply curves in such a way that production will be back at the NAIRGDP and unemployment at the NAIRU. If the policies are designed to move the economy away from the NAIRGDP, so they will be ineffective regardless what mix of fiscal and monetary policies they are.This leads to the general Policy Ineffectiveness Proposition.Policy Ineffectiveness PropositionAny consistent government policies designed to influence the economy to a level of production other than the NAIRGDP will be ineffective if the population have rational expectationsThe essential measures that ended hyperinflation in each of Germany,Austria, Hungary, and Poland were, first, the creation of an independentcentral bank that was legally committed to refuse the governmentsdemand for additional unsecured credit and, second, a simultaneousalteration in the fiscal policy regime.37 These measures were co-ordinatedand coordinated. They had the effect of binding the government to placeits debt with private parties and foreign governments which would valuethat debt according to whether it was backed by sufficiently largeprospective taxes relative to public expenditures. In each case that wehave studied, once it became widely understood that the governmentwould not rely on the central bank for its finances, the inflation terminatedand the exchanges stabilized. We have further seen that it was notsimply the increasing quantity of central bank notes that caused thehyperinflation, since in each case the note circulation continued to growrapidly after the exchange rate and price level had been stabilized.Rather, it was the growth of fiat currency which was unbacked, or backedonly by government bills, which there never was a prospect to turn inthrough taxation.The changes that ended the hyperinflations were not isolated restrictiveactions within a given set of rules of the game or general policy.Earlier attempts to stab ilize the exchanges in Hungary under Hegedus,38and also in Germany, failed hardly because they did not change therules of the game under which fiscal policy had to be conducted.39In discussing this subdue with various people, I have encountered theview that the events described here are so extreme and bizarre that theydo not bear on the subject of inflation in the contemporary United States.On the contrary, it is precisely because the events were so extreme thatthey are relevant. The four incidents we have studied are akin to laboratoryexperiments in which the constituental forces that cause and can be usedto stop inflation are easiest to spot. I believe that these incidents are full oflessons about our own, less drastic predicament with inflation, if only we render them correctly.Costless immediate disinflation is not possible in an economy with long-term labor contracts. This paper sets out a simple spying model of wage andoutput determination and uses it to calculate sacrifice ratios for a disinflationprogram, under the assumption that announced policy changes are immediatelybelieved. Under this assumption disinflation with a structure of labor contractslike those of the United States would be less expensive than typically estimated.The model is then modified to allow for the slow adjustment of expectations ofpolicy to actual policy sacrifice ratios then cost the ranges typicallyestimated.The sacrifice ratio for the current disinflation is calculated in the lastsection the current disinflation was somewhat more rapid and less costly thanprevious estimates suggested. The calculated sacrifice ratio is consistent withthe predictions of the simple contracting model.Inflationary expectations and aggregate demand pressure are twoimportant variables that influence inflation. It is recognized that reducinginflation through contractionary demand policies can involve significantreductions in output and employment relative to say-so output. Theempirical macroeco nomics literature is replete with estimates of the socalledsacrifice ratio, the percentage cumulative loss of output due to a 1percent reduction in inflation.It is well known that inflationary expectations play a significant reference inany disinflation program. If inflationary expectations are adaptive(backward- spirit), wage contracts would be set accordingly. If inflationdrops unexpectedly, real wages rise increasing employment costs foremployers. Employers would then cut back employment and productiondisrupting economic activity. If expectations are formed rationally (forward2looking), any momentum in inflation must be due to the underlyingmacroeconomic policies. Sargent (1982) contends that the seeming inflationoutputtrade-off disappears when one adopts the rational expectationsframework. The staggered wage-setting literature provides evidence thateven if expectations are formed rationally, wage and price determination willhave backward-looking and forward looking elements. Th e backwardlookingelement reflects last years contracts on this years prices whereas theforward-looking element reflects next years contracts on this years prices.Taylor (1998) presents a detailed circular of the staggered wage and pricesetting literature, and the exercise will not be pursued here. Calvo (1983)shows that in a world of stochastic contract length, the costless disinflation take extends to a world of staggered wage contracts with forward-lookingexpectations. Stopping inflation is then a matter of a resolute commitment onpart of the government to a credible disinflation program.In this literature, the costless disinflation result extends to a world ofstaggered wage contracts with forward-looking expectations. Stoppinginflation is then a matter of a resolute commitment on the part of thegovernment to a credible disinflation program.It is likely that in an economy there are both forward- and backwardlookingelements in inflationary expectations. Chadha, Masson, andMeredith (1992) (henceforth CMM), provide a interconnected framework to test forexpectations formation in a single specification. CMM use a Phillips curveframework to consider two benchmark cases a Phelps-Friedman adaptiveexpectations model which places a weight of unity on past inflation(complete inflation stickiness) and a rational staggered contracts modelbased on Calvo (1983) that places a weight of unity on expected inflation(inflation is independent of past inflation). These two extremes are nested inone specification where current inflation is a weighted average of past andexpected incoming inflation.

Method Of Calculating Shareholder Value Analysis Finance Essay

Method Of Calculating Shargonholder range summary Finance sampleThis study illust rank the theory, model and method of calculating Shareholder care for Analysis utilise Alfred Rappaports SVA model. The literature review is the critical relevant fit on extendant social organisation. The literature review is focused lodges as a debt instrument. stockholder VALUE ANALYSIS (SVA)AstraZeneca Plc.Alfred Rappaport in 1986 coined the term Shareholder Value Analysis. The opinion of shareowner respect analysis revolves almost an some other concept promiseed Value found forethought. The procedure for calculating Shareholder Value Analysis is to puzzle step to the fore the present value of the estimated cash flows with the cost of chief city. As per Rappaport Corporate Value = Shareholder value + DebtShareholder value=Corporate Value- DebtTo calculate the shareowner value, the corporate value needs to be calculated first. Corporate value of an entity whoremaster be calculate dPresent value of cashflows during forecast finis+present value of cashflows beyond forecast periodTo make the answers to a great extent precise and reli suitable, market value of marketable securities and other enthronisations should be includeThe process of calculating SVA can be graphically depicted as in Figure 1C17NF006Figure Faisal AhhamadSeven value drivers of stockholder value as draw by Rappaport are effrontery over at a lower place-Sales growth Sales is a parting, based on the trends of old twelvemonths, by which sales are expected to join on every twelvemonth .In the case of AstraZeneca, the sales growth calculated on the al-Qaida of the past 5 years from 2006-2010, comes place to be 7%. on that pointof sales are expected to grow by 7% during the supply horizon.Operating profit margin Operating margin is the percentage of the selling price which de nones profit. Thus profit margin denotes the percentage of revenues left subsequently deducting all essenti al cost and overheads.Profit margin for AstraZeneca based on the trend of previous 5 years is 31%. Thus 31% of sales represents profit of the comp some(prenominal).Tax Tax rate is the percentage of your profits which is deducted as tax. HM Revenue and customs shows the tax rate for the year 2011 to be 28%. Based on the average of past trend, I calculated the same figure, ie. 28%.Incremental working slap-up investiture Incremental working capital represents the increment in the working capital based on the change in the sales. It is represented as percentage of change in sales. For Astra Zeneca the rate of incremental working capital investment is 102% of sales.Incremental crown Investment Incremental hood Investment represents the increase in the fixed assets of the company based on the increase in sales. The ICI is represented as a percentage of sales. For Astra Zeneca the ICI percentage was calculated based on the trend of previous five years. The value of ICI is 1.12 of sal es.Required rate of Return Required Rate of Return calculated for AstraZeneca is 7.15%. It is the Weighted modal(a) Cost of Capital for AstraZeneca. It is based on the AstraZenecas beta as per the capital of the United Kingdom Business School Risk Management Service Book which was .57 and the flow rate Risk free rate 4.25%. The current Market premium has been withdrawn to be 6% from Glen Arnold. The Require rate of return was calculated using CAPM.Planning Horizon Planning horizon for the deliberateness has been taken to be 6 years.The SVA calculated for AstraZeneca = 37.902 Billion.The real market capitalisation on the twenty-four hour period of calculation was 40.643 BillionThe market is overvalued as the SVA of the company is coming to 37.902 Billion. reappraisal of the SVA modelShareholder value model like any other model has been criticized for various reasons. SVA is a relatively simple model even so precise in its approach. The major criticism for SVA is that it tak es assumptions wanting the trends. For say it assumes that the sales would increase at a constant rate for all years in planning horizon. More over it neglects ICI and IWCI when the values are negative. Therefore the calculation of the SVA cannot be said to be entirely correct.Literature Review of Capital StructureFocussing on Bonds as a source of financeCapital structure in the simplest terms can be described as a combination of various sources of finance that an enterprise uses for getting capital. Firms can acquire capital in various forms much(prenominal) as fair play and debt. As these can be used in various proportions thus several various combinations or capital structures can exist. Capital structure as an area of academic study gained attention with the work of Modigliani miller (1958) which think that capital structure was irrelevant to the value of a company. This conclusion was constructed on some key assumptions much(prenominal) as a perfect market with perfect knowledge, no taxes and no costs of exploit and that individuals had the capability to borrow at the same rate as adult corporations, thus it assumed a racy direct of uniformity(see Arnold, 2005 pp.958). In 1963 Modigliani and Miller reviewed the conclusion and altered the no-tax assumption, thus changing the conclusion altogether. The new MM theorem suggested that when taxes were taken into consideration, the shareholder value maximization objective would be served with the in high spiritsest level of cogwheel. This theorem served as the starting point for most post- 1960 work on capital structure.MM theorem was followed by two more(prenominal) central theories of capital structure known as the Pecking order theory and static trade cancelled theory of capital structure. The earliest version of the Static theory of capital structure is attributed to Kraus and Litzenberger(1973). It suggests that companies choose their gearing levels based on the balance amidst costs of bank ruptcy and the tax benefits derived from such gearing. Thus this theory suggested an optimal level of gearing where transactional and bankruptcy costs would be traded off by tax benefits and no more. Pecking order theory, propounded by Myers and Majluf (1984), on the other pot suggests that companies be in possession of a tendency to choose internally generated funds forwards exercising any other creams of financing, followed by away debt leaving equity to be their last resort. Research by Almeida and Campello (2010) suggests a negative human relationship between existence of internal funds and tendency to use foreign funding from debt. The actual prevalence of any of these theories in the real demesne is still a matter of debate and being tested always (Frank and Goyal, 2005 Jong et al, 2011)While the debate about a suitable level of gearing continues, one fact that has gained acceptance that gearing can increase shareholder value and if appropriately used can be a honou rable financial tool for companies. This has provided companies with more options to acquire the necessary capital. Debt as an option is now being used by more and more companies as a means of raising finance through ordinary and hole-and-corner(a) placements (Buckley et al, 1998). Companies can acquire debt through various kinds of everydayly traded follow instruments or from institutional lenders through term loans and clandestine placements (Berk and DeMarzo, 2011). With the increasing number of options to organise capital, the dilemma of the tight is no more between equity and debt wholly but also between what form of debt to use.Issuing of public debt involves high costs, especially fixed costs. Such costs are called floatation costs and are a major element considered when deciding to raise debt from public (B insufficiencywell and Kidwell, 1998). Smaller firms therefore find the it beyond their resources to carry out such an expensive issue. Thus bigger firms have the size and resources to raise public debt(Krishnaswami et al, 1999 Dennis and Mihov, 2003).Lack of appropriate information is also another major factor considered by investors. Thus any firm information about which is not readily available or verifiable would be subject to unbelief by the investors (Jensen and Meckling, 1976). Taking into consideration the perceived guess when lending to such a firm, the investors would desire a higher rate of return, unless and until they have greater control of and better supervision of the activities of the business. As individual debt holders from the public cannot knead such close control, they prefer to settle for higher returns. To avoid remunerative higher enkindles some companies prefer to borrow from institutional lenders as they have the capability to closely supervise the activities of the firm. Institutional lenders such as banks win this by imposing Restrictive Covenants (Diamond, 1984). Such constrictive covenants cannot be com pel by individual owners of public debt instruments.Several different researches have shown that littler firms, when opting for external debt financing prefer to opt for loans rather than bonds while bigger firms tend to use bonds as the preferred debt instrument(e.g. Krishnaswami et al, 1999 Dennis and Mihov, 2003). Dennis and Mihov(2003) suggest that larger companies with a extremely debt geared capital structure may use their supplement as an indicator of credibility and reputation, thus using it to raise debt from public. This description is countered by Chemmanur and Fulghieris earlier(1994) statement that high leveraging may be seen as a sign of financial distress and debt renegotiations may become a complication in case debt is elevated through public sources.Rao and Edmunds (2001) with regard to restrictive covenants and floating interest rates, state that firms do their shareholders a ill turn by taking private placed debt which comes along with floating interest rates and restrictive covenants. The floating interest rates make the upcoming cash-flows of the firm unstable and the restrictive covenants restrict the growth of the firm, and thus shareholder value, by tying the hands of the steering and owners. Smith and Warner(1979) suggest that restrictive covenants involved in privately raised debt may not be worth cost as it the restrictions imposed may discourage management from entering into projects which could have been potentially profitable. Such restrictive covenants and floating rates are usually part and parcel of institutional loans and privately raised debt. Rao and Edmunds(2001) favour bonds which give the firms freedom to operate in favour of the shareholders and to expect stability in their cashflows due to stable interest rates.Bonds are a preferable form of raising debt publicly as it allows the firm to take for greater tractableness in operations and may turn out to be cheaper than traditional bank or institutional loans.Absol ute lack of restrictive covenants can also be abused by the bond issuer at times. Certain situations are discussed as below-Myers (1977) suggests underinvestment is a major issue for levered high growth business as being highly levered, management in such businesses may let go of absolute NPV projects assuming that the returns would not suffice for distribution between the bondholders and stockholders. Myers(1977) further suggests that this worry can be taken care of with dividend covenants which cap the maximum bill of dividend distributable by a company to understand that free cash flows are not distributed to shareholders, rather they are invested in worthy projects. As levered firms talent have a higher tendency to let go of unconditional NPV projects, putting debt restrictions or debt covenants would help ensure that the firm does not take on more than a certain extent of debt and thus there will be no conflict of interests.Nash et al(2003) describe another situation, whe re covenants can be of benefit for bond holders, in which the bond issuer can ignore the claim of the bond holders by issuing another taking on more debt and issuing another claim of a higher antecedency. nether such circumstances the bond holders would be bearing more risk but would still get the interest rate fixed onward more debt was acquired by the bond issuer. Certain covenants, which restrict acquisition of more debt or restrict issuing of claims which hold priority over the previous bond holders, can help reduce chances of such claim dilution. Fama and Miller(1972) call such rules as me-first rules.Nash et al(2003) further describes certain situations where the restrictive covenants would turn out to be detrimental for the bond holders themselves. One major drawback of restrictive covenants is the step-down in the flexibility of the management and stockholders. Thus due to restrictive covenants the management and stock holders might decide not to invest in high return pr ojects just to avoid any risk. Such circumstances would deuce-ace to sacrifice of growth and thus the firms survival may itself be at stake.Another situation describe by Nash et al(2003) is the scenario where the bond issuing firm may be facing financial distress. Due to lack of useable flexibility and financially restrictive covenants the firm would not be able to generate ample cash flow or arrange external funding and thus would face bankruptcy.Nash et al(2003) and others have suggested certain ways around to cope with the drawbacks of restrictive covenants and to use them constructively.The first such option is the convertibility option. The bond holders should have the option to convert bonds into shares. Mayers(1998) contended that it would allow a level of flexibility to the management of the firm while discouraging the management to transfer any value from the debt holders to the shareholders as such transferred value would be recaptured on variation of bonds to shares.Ne xt option is to secure the debt with assets. Securing the bonds with tangible assets would provide a mind of security to the bondholders as they would have knowledge of their claim to a particular asset in case of default.Debt priority is another option given by Nash et al(2003) and supported by Fama and Millers(1972) as per their Me first rules. This arrangement would ensure that there is an existing agreement among all claimholders that the bond holders have priority over other claimants and that during the tenure of the bonds no new claimants would be given priority over them.In the end it can be concluded that bonds have certain advantages over other forms of debt like institutional loans and private placements . Such advantages should be capitalised on when considering the option of increasing the debt gearing in the capital structure. That would ensure availability of cheaper finance, increased flexibility and increase in shareholder value.

The Changing Role Of The Management Accountant Commerce Essay

The Changing Role Of The Management Accountant art EssayCharles Darwin the famous scientist who introduced the theory of natural selection said In the struggle for survival, the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in line uping themselves best to their environment. He used this theory to explain the extinction of the dinosaurs from the earth.I believe this theory in detail is non hold in to species. It is a universal truth which is applicable to so many phenomena we see in our day to day continues. i much(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) illustration is the diversity of pay matter. The enormous neuter the somatic world underwent all over the hold water some decades has necessarily pressurized the pay carry to adapt to its operating environment. As a result, straight off the pay function is in the fore-front of decision making lay itself as a blood partner for the ecesis as remote to a conventional support function.It is in this context that e genuinely formation today should embark on the journey of metamorphoseing its pay function to adapt to the challenges of the modern business environment. It is take aimless to exaggerate the changes this brings about in the occasion of the vigilance accountant. n itheless being humans it is natural for us to freeze off such change. What we should remember nevertheless is that if we fail to adapt to these changes, our destiny would not be different to that of dinosaurs.This reinforces the argument that tomorrows successful management accountants will be the ones who not except run into the collect importance of finance interlingual rendition but also who take proactive measures to bring about useful change and eventually manage such change to ensure sustainability of the business.2. finance Transformation2.1 How it has changed?Accounting pay function over the centuries has evolved signifi go offtly from the basic double entry bookkeeping the revo lutionary concept which started it all. Today we live in a world where global companies exist and the finance function like so many differentwise things in human bearing has transformed itself to cater the ever increasing demands of modern day businesses.let it be financial give outing, treasury management, budgeting or any other sphere of influence in finance for that matter, there is visible transformation. For instance, bum-line in financial jargon, only esteemt financial profitability until recently. But today organizations strive for a troika bottom-line which is way beyond the boundaries of financial profitability.A recent research conducted by CIMAs centre of excellence at the University of Bath concluded the following changes (see grimace 1) as the most frequent changes faced by businesses.Figure 1 Key changes faced by the finance Function in the last decadeSource CIMA focus on for righteousness, Excellence in Leadership, December 2009, p.12As per the above rese arch data, an overwhelming majority of 96.4% has confirmed that there had been at least one change in their finance function for the stay in concern. all the same the degree, to which these changes have been popular, may extremely vary with woo reduction being the forerunner with a popularity of 59% while Outsourcing of non- use tasks was confined to a mediocre 5.5%.The same study later classifies these changes to four blanket(a) types and also pin appoints two main motives behind these changes namely Cost capability and Value creation (See Table 2).Table 2 Classification of Changes face by the finance FunctionSource CIMA Centre for Excellence, Excellence in Leadership, December 2009, p.12Cost energy motive is where a business is deplore to improve its output by using its resources more efficiently. On the other hand Value creation involves performing tasks in split ship canal whilst eliminating non- comfort adding activities such that the organization creates respect i n terms of profitability.It is clear from the data (See Figure 1) that it is the Cost Efficiency found changes which were more prominent in businesses during the last decade. As the research suggests, Cost Reduction and Business exercise Re- engineering science (BPR) appear formated steps for organizations as they grow. The economies of scale, firms atomic number 18 pass judgment to strain with its size, rationalize such change. kick upstairs the world economic crisis stemmed in 2007 prolongs to date would also have significantly influenced finance managers to run their businesses on tighter budgets and thus focus on aptitude based transformation.Although cost efficiency measures, up to now, have had the upper hand in finance transformation, it is pass judgment that the value based changes would take precedence in times to come, as finance functions embark on the journey to achieve the visionary value creator status.2.2 Why has it changed?So far we discussed how the finan ce function has evolved over the old age. Let us now examine the underlying drivers which caused this dramatic change. This inevitably leads us to look at the changes that occurred in the environment in which businesses operate. One thing that surely comes to my mind is globalization. I believe this concept iodine handedly revolutionized the way people engaged in business. For instance virtual organizations such as Dell and online market places such as e-bay have not only been highly successful, but also have challenged the future viability of traditionalistic business models.However globalization is only one among many drivers of change as per CIMAs recent research findings on finance transformation. In fact it ranks well below the likes of increased competition technological advancement which grabbed the acquit two spots in terms of popularity (See Figure 3).Figure 3 Drivers of organizational change ranked in terms of popularitySource CIMA Centre for Excellence, Excellence i n Leadership, December 2009, p.15Increased assay and uncertainty and remote account requirements achieved tertiary and 4th places respectively with market development advance next. It is important to mention the part played by the collapses of big corporate giants such as Enron, Worldcom and subsequent changes it created in the finance function particularly in terms of risk assessment models and stringent reporting guidelines.The report further highlights some of the differences that exist within different business sectors.For employment, demographics are as twice as popular driver in globe sector compared to the private sector in which competition market kinetics are more prevalent.In financial services industry risk uncertainty is hailed above all drivers of change.All these drivers subsequently created pressure on the tradition finance function and new finance harbor models evolved to example the new playing field.3. The changing role of the management accountant in todays environment3.1 The way forwardSo far we analyzed the spirit of finance transformation and its underlying causes. It is now high time to look at the evolving role of tomorrows management accountant. Having acted as a steward for decades, today the finance professionals are increasingly pressurized to be a navigator or a business partner in performing his/her duties.With reference to the antecedently mentioned study done by CIMA, it is evident that Business partnering is clearly emergent as a way forward for finance transformation.Table 4 Business Partnering in finance functionSource CIMA Centre for Excellence, Excellence in Leadership, December 2009, p.11.In its research report, Finance transformation business partnering, CIMA Centre for Excellence defines business partnering as a behavior which involves members of the finance function acting as close advisors or internal consultants in greater collaboration and pass across- useful feeding with others in the organizati on, so they can understand the business better, and provide the advice and support that is needed.1The idea here is, for finance members to actively participate in the decision making mathematical process and take bodied ownership of the decision as opposed to being passive advisors. However in order to do so, the finance professionals not only need to posses technical knowledge in finance IT, they should also be outfit with extensive industry knowledge business acumen. In addition to that, the need for elicitd inter transaction across all the aims in the organization would mean that the management accountants need to master necessary communication and interpersonal skills.Further the traditional barriers that exist between departments would also need to be relaxed so that effective inter-functional associations are enabled. Erik ter Horst, Vice President Finance, CFO EMEA and Latin America, BT, fling insights to CIMAs survey adds for me, finance can only be functional if t he finance function is a part of the whole organization2.However one might also argue that this may compensate the level of independence exercised by finance and hence affect the objectiveness of its decisions. While acknowledging the possibility, Morten Sorensen, Finance Director Central Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, SSP, believes that the potential risk to the objectivity of finance function will be outweighed by the additional value generated at the end of the day it comes shoot down to the integrity and professionalism of the individual.33.2 Finance transformation and the role of the Management Accountant at Bodyline3.2.1 BackgroundBodyline Private Limited, a joint venture between MAST Industries, Triumph International MAS Holdings, is one of the largest intimate apparel sportswear manufactures in Sri Lanka with a workforce of around 6000 employees and an annual energy of around 15 million pieces of bras. The caller-out caters to some of the worlds most excitin g brands including Victoria Secret, Nike, Marks Spencer and Lane Bryant.Over the last couple of years Bodyline has synergized its multi convergence customer portfolio to its competitive advantage whilst investing on technologies such as bonding, 3D hemming and ultrasonic welding.However the company is constantly veneer stiff competition from low cost manufacturers in Asian countries such as Bangladsh Vietnam, and as a result recently underwent drastic changes in its business model which in turn caused the finance function to transform accordingly.3.2.2 Finance Transformation at BodylineTable 5 Changes faced by the finance function at BodylineFinance Function Change display caseType of ChangeMotive for Change1Greater accent on cost reductionProjects to curb major cost intrude on areas. E.g. Overtime Tracking MechanismCost ReductionCost Efficiency2Increased outsourcing of routine tasksOutsourcing of VAT Returns Process to a 3rd partyBPR3Increased Use of Shared Service Centers f or routine tasksSetting up a common commercial department in collaboration with MAS Intimates group4Increased work on product pricingDevelopments of Pre Post Order Profitability functions on SAP harvest-feast FocusValue Creation5Cross functional groups make-up of customer teams comprising of representatives of different departments including financeFocus on internal processes6Greater emphasis on poor implementation within the organizationFacilitating greater depth in Performance Management. (Catering to Business, Departmental Individual levels)7Increased external benchmarking of the whole organization chance assessments and external benchmarking activities prima(p) to sound business decisions being takenSource Primary data collected from BodylineThe above diagram depicts functional changes experienced by Bodyline Finance and it could be ingestly compared with Table 2 in page 3. (CIMAs airplane pilot model)3.2.2.1 Cross Functional TeamsA drastic structural change was introduce d a couple of(prenominal) months back where cross functional teams (representing virtually all the departments) were formulated to uniquely cater severally customer. A business analyst was appointed to each team to represent finance and he/she adheres to a dual reporting structure where the individual reports to the Head of Finance as well as to the Head of the respective customer account. Each customer team sits in concert in a separate area within the factory so that interaction between the members is enhanced.However the transformation entangled significant heathen change. People had to be convinced that the previous structure that had been adopted for the past(a) 15 years was not the right way forward. Members of finance worked very closely with the new leadership to change the internal structures reporting lines to logical cross functional business teams to support customer expectations.The management accountants involved in articulating the methodology of doing managem ent outlines including Key Performance Indicators as well as devising segmental reporting of customer bottom lines coupled with policy control deployment. This helped the people to understand the big movie and most importantly, where do they fit in to the new structure. The increased level of transparency helped us create a healthy competition among customer teams which in turn contributed to break the resistance to change whilst aggressively ride towards the achievement of business objectives.3.2.2.2 Greater emphasis on poor performance Performance management initiatives across many departments layers are being introduced with the direct involvement of finance which provides design to delivery solutions. For instance, the incentive scheme for sewing operators was changed to an efficiency based group incentive mechanism from an individual performance based incentive governance, with finance department functioning as the see to it champion. This is one fine example where Bodyli nes finance function operated as a true business partner coming out of its comfort zones, co-operating with the other relevant departments and executing the pouch to perfection. It is noteworthy to mention that whilst executing this project, multiplex human dynamics of 6,500 people and the cost implications of providing incentives to all of them were considered. A serial publication of information sessions had to be conducted to manage the knowledge transfer requirement in terms of the new system. Nevertheless a significant increment in factory efficiency was noticed within the first month of project implementation.In order to facilitate such advance business requirements, the finance function was strengthened with people having dual backgrounds. In other words, unconnected from hardcore finance graduates, Bodylines finance team comprises of several apparel engineering graduates from the University of Moratuwa who are also qualified in CIMA. It is this unique resource combinatio n that has enabled Bodylines finance team to successfully strive for excellence amidst numerous challenges.3.2.2.3 Risk Analysis The members of the finance department are also engaged in analysis assessment of risks facing the company, developing projections based on such risks to draw the attention of the management on high risk areas. For example early identification of the risks of Western economic recession, paved the way for the company to take immediate actions and thereby mitigate the impact of these adverse events at least to a certain extent.3.2.2.4 Cost Reduction As a follow up action plan to Budget Monitoring, the finance team in collaboration with other departments initiated 4 major projects to cut down companys overhead cost. These are namelyImplementation of overtime cost introduce controlling mechanismA project to control transport disbursalA project to control courier chargesA project to control stationary costA project leader is appointed from Finance for each project and this individual is solely responsible for delivering the objectives of the project. The leader is expected to collaborate with relevant departments, device an action plan, follow up action points and present the progress at the next months budget monitoring session. crucial cost reductions were observed in each area with the inception of these projects.On the other hand, these projects offer a great opportunity for the budding management accountants to move out their comfort zones, actively involve in cross cultural teams, subscribe and become business partners who actively participate in achieving the companys strategic objectives.3.2.2.5 Increased work on product pricing To enhance the visibility of financial information at the Sales Order level, a project was initiated by finance with the collaboration of IT to develop SAP (the companys ERP system) based modules which calculates the expected profitability of a Sales order in the system itself. This process currently happens on spread sheets off the ERP system and as a result lot of information is duplicated and resources are wasted. The second cast of this project involves linking purchase order authorization procedure to sales order profitability so that an effective control on at the point of material purchases can be exercised.Yet again this is a challenge project which requires the individual to move out of the comfort zones of an accountant and work with System users/IT specialists and to gather system requirements and thereby ensure effective system development is achieved later.4. ConclusionModern day businesses experience change at a dramatic rate and whichever the ones that do not adapt quickly, would be gone before long. Being part of that business, the finance function can never isolate itself so should get accustomed to change.If the finance function has to change, that indirectly means the management accountants should expect their roles to frequently change in future. In fact i t is the management accountants who are expected to manage the process of finance transformation. As their roles evolve, tomorrows management accountants will be expected to learn new skills (more often out of their comfort zones) work with cross functional teams and ultimately act as business partners who take responsibility for the collective decisions.Although we all tend to resist change initially, we also might live it is after all not so bad. It certainly brings opportunities provided we take it in the right spirit we may end up being better off. The story of finance transformation at Bodyline is certainly of that type. Transforming was never an light-headed journey and it still is not. However as a team the finance function moved forward with positive attitude and as a result in the process has achieved so many milestones.As I conclude, the fundamental point I wish to bring up is that the finance transformation is inevitable. Irrespective of whether we like it or not its h ere to stay. However it is our decision either to embrace the change like a lizard which quickly changes its color to suit the environment and thereby survive through successful camouflaging or else ignore the change just like the dinosaur and obviously extinct.

Collection of Film Review Examples

Collection of Film analyse ExamplesShane Meadows is k nowadaysadaysn to rent scenes active his own experiences. This is England is no exception. The idea for the photo came from the director s childhood, and it is the to the highest degree personal deal Shane Meadows has made so far, as he said himself.In an interview at the British Film Institutes S let onhbank theatre in April, Meadows talked slightly his upbringing. Yeah, of wholly clocky moment of triumph in my life usu solelyy stunk of sadness. Every time I was tho about to stupefy nighw here someone stuck a dart up my arse. Thats how I remember growing up in Uttoxeter. When things were at their shittest, enounce touchmed to be at their best and when things were at their best, people trancemed to be at their worst The demand starts with a sequence of clips, introducing the viewer to England in 1983. When honoring the intro, I got the tactile property I am about to wait on some kind of documentary, due to the footage organism shown.The mise en scene is outstanding in this piece C to be perfectly honest, I was silly rich to believe it was actu every last(predicate)y shot in 1983 in the beginning, which makes me extremely embarrassed.The blow-by-blow casting, costumes, sets and props makes it hard to believe the painting was actually shot in 2006, which makes the drool oft more(prenominal) believ open and easier to subscribe into.The piece is congeal together extremely intumesce and the soundtrack comprises of the hits from the eighties, which sets the witticism perfectly.The master(prenominal) vitrine is whole in the beginning C he doesnt actually let friends, he is being bullied at school, he gets in a fight with a boy, who makes fun of his dead father. Although the movie talks about some true(a)ly serious issues c are gang culture and racism, lack of jobs and immigration, it still manages to make you smile, want the number when Shaun comes lynchpin sept to hi s get down and complains about his trousers. This bureau non whole are you amused and it takes off the depressing mood in the movie, save it similarly qualitys more actual, less movie- ilk.The movie is a typical culmination-of-age sort of piece, where the chief(prenominal) protagonist changes and matures as the theme unfolds. His story basically starts when he wipees paths with skinheads and disc everyplaces belonging to a group makes things easier. They go out hunting together, and this comes from a literal story of the director s childhood. The group he joins is relatively harmless C compared to what lies ahead. The nice long time don t last long C soon enough, jazz band comes back from prison and bills up as the leader of the group. in that respect is a belief of tension building and although we make Shaun developing supplement to Combo, who is now the likes of the father protrude the boy never had, in that location is a strong feeling something will go se riously wrong. curtly everything goes from a group of youngsters, fooling around, to Shaun attending a National precedent meeting. For me, a person, who isn t too political, this movie is also educating C beholding what life and politics were like in 1983.In the movie we claver Shaun becoming a man in a very fiddling period of time. A very important scene in This is England is when Shaun gets his cross tattoo. The director, Shane Meadows, has the exact identical tattoo on the very(prenominal) finger. This marks Shaun, as a expenditurey member of the Skinheads, who agrees to stay in the group for the difference of his life.Although Shaun is now Combos protegee and receives his undivided attention, we see that his relationship is starting to become hard and Combo is a bad influence on the young boy. cockamamie hunting games that Shaun used to puzzle out with the previous skinhead group turn into real acts of violence in Combo s.It must be noned that the slaying by Stephe n Graham, who plays Combo, is simply astonishing C when the group robs the shop, the intimidation and execration he manufactured were so real and believable, for one moment on that window pane I got into the action so some(prenominal), I was scared for the shop owner s life, only to realize it s practiced an fake.In my opinion, Combo is just as important as Shaun, because the complexity of Combo s sheath is what drives the story. One second he is talking to Milky with respect and treating him like a brother, the other, he bursts out and beats him to death, which shows Shaun the real count of his passion idol, when the latter unleashes his fury change surface upon his close friends.The piece ends with a computer address to four hundred blows , which is other(prenominal) coming-of-age plastic film. The main vulcanized fiber Shaun runs to the sea, which is considered to be a symbolic representation of freedom and throws the England flag into the water, freeing himself an d making clear that he is not coming back to the group. The last shot, just now like in cd blows , is him, looking up at the television camera, making a connection with a viewer. after all, this is precisely what Shane Meadows intended to do in the commencement issue.Pierrot Le Fouby Jean-Luc GodardJean-Luc GodardJean-Luc Godard always said that he doesn t really formulate his movies too conservatively, and he does not intentionally leave any privy messages in them. It is all up to the viewer, to make what he or she wants of it. later on watching it I entail Pierrot Le Fou is one of those films that you either hatred or love and it is unquestionably not for everyone C the plot here can be confusing sometimes and the main characters hard to understand. Also, there are references to Vietnam War, which I didn t steady notice and estimation it was another random element of the main characters fooling around.The movie is about Ferdinand and Marianne, a complicated couple wh o decide to run away together. They beat from each one other, twain misfits, and realize they want to isolate themselves from the fake reality they follow in. This is really well portrayed in the beginning of the movie. We see Ferdinand in a party, which looks a lot like a parody for TV commercials. The guests are talking about unlike products in such carriage you would expect to find in a commercial. The effect of it all being fake and distant to Ferdinand is also streng consequentlyed with experimental liberation.I think one of the most brilliant scenes in the movie is at the same party, when Ferdinand meets a movie director and talks about cinema with him. This is manifestly self-referential, except it was also brilliant to take after the misconnection betwixt the two of them, because of the phraseology barrier. The funny thing is, when Ferdinand asks the American director what is cinema, although the cleaning lady translates the sentence totally wrong, asking about h is movie, not cinema in general, his answer, in my opinion, is exactly right. It is a battleground. It is love. Hate. Action. Violence and death. One word C emotions. This conversation, that efficacy not leave a big feel on the others, left me in awe of the script-writing for Pierrot Le Fou . some other thing that I realized is the lighting changing, when he moves on from the TV-ad conversation to the American director. It goes from red, which is usually considered a discolor of danger, alarm, awareness to green, which is soothing, nature-like. It is another way of the director showing that Ferdinand is very elicit and comfortable talking about the arts.The tinct scheme in Pierrot le Fou is very important I would posit that at some points the color even set up the story better than the action. I noticed two leading colours, which represent the main characters C red and dark-skinned. Blue is Ferdinand s colour C he is often shot next to the blue sky, or the sea, he drives a blue car and even paints his face blue, onwards committing suicide. I think the blue also represents his character, quite calm, relaxed, and even cold sometimes.Red, on the other authorize, is the complete opposite and it is the colour of Marianne C she drives a red car, wears red clothes, and is simply a vivid, energetic character.Another important colour in the film is scandalmongering, which is represents jealousy and betrayal.Toward the end of the movie, we see the exchange of the colours C Ferdinand s head, wrapped in a red scarf, when being tortured symbolizing the fact that it s all happening because of his relationship with Marianne. Also, the couple exchanging cars and Ferdinand starting to wear a glary red shirt.When Ferdinand and Marianne separate, after Marianne taking the brief case with her, we notice lily-livered flowers in the background.When Ferdinand approaches the dock, where Marianne is divergence on a boat, with her new lover, on his way there, red and y ellow are dominating in the background. Ferdinand reaches the dock, where a single yellow place is standing, as he watches the woman he loves running away with another man.The next shot of him is approaching a man sitting the ground, singing. We now see yellow taking over, as it is seen, as Ferdinand walks with his head down.When he is on the boat, in the preliminary there is a big yellow box, as if it was telling us that jealousy is driving him to the island.Ferdinand is walking through a field and singing Do you love me at the same time as he passes yellow flowers.The yellow starts to dominate again, as he approaches and shoots Marianne. The climax of this is Ferdinand s suicide, when he is wearing the red shirt, paint his face blue, and wrapping himself with red and yellow dynamite, which represents Marianne s betrayal.Pierrot Le Fou is definitely now one of my favourite films of all time, and has so legion(predicate) polar sides to it, that to decode the whole piece would take me an eternity, except I cerebrate that is one of the reasons why I fell in love with it.Meshes of the good afternoonby Maya DerenAlthough I am not a big sports fan of surrealism, Maya Deren s film had much more meaning to me, than Dali s and Bunuel s work. Meshes of the Afternoon , in my opinion, was less random, more carefully set and the symbols carefully picked to convey a message.It s a movie about a woman s state of mind, her dream world and her reality premix together in the end.This film, just like numerous surrealism films, is an experience C you cannot watch it like you would watch a drama or a comedy. You could call it brain exercise, if you want. Throughout the film there are a lot of symbols and the randomness at first might seem pointless, barely the production is made really carefully.The film starts with a flower, put in the middle of the road by a long female hand. We at a time realize this is not going to be an ordinary movie C both time and space are distorted C the hand comes from nowhere, and suddenly disappears.The flower, of course, symbolizes beauty, love and femininity. Soon after this we see a woman picking up the flower, which indicates it is a piece about her and her place, as a woman.The fact we do not see the main character s face, creates tension and curiosity about her intentions.As she tries to open the door, she loses the key and it locomote all the way down the stairs. To me the key probably symbolizes answers, freedom and solutions.She enters the household and sees things scattered all over the place C news composings, a dig and a telephone. Once again, I can only interpret it in my own way C a knife is an obvious danger, also a possible symbol of a phallus. A telephone is probably a representation of the main character s connection, in this case C with herself.When she goes upstairs, she sees a window open, which also can be construe as a symbol of freedom and escape. She notices a al-Quran participant working, but not making any noise. I cannot really exempt why, but to me the record player symbolizes her own life C it is playing, but there is no music, no purpose, so she turns it off.Maya Deren keeps jumping from one place to another C just like it would be in a dream. As we see the world through her eyes, she turns her head and finds herself in a whole different live. This is all done to disrupt any feeling of order and continuity.When she falls asleep, in her dreams, we see the clad figure for the first time. After seeing the whole movie I can only interpret it as the symbol of death, the Grim Reaper. This creature has a reverberate for a face and it makes me approve whether the main character is following it, because she is direful to look at the mirror and see her true self. The draped figure is moving really slowly and the main character is running, but she cannot get even close to catching up with it. This represents her conflicted persona and the difficult state he r mind is in.When she comes back to the house formerly again, the knife is now on the stairway, in her way, indicating that it is unavoidable that she uses it.After this we move over a sequence of shots, which adds to the feeling of a dream C slow motion of her footsteps, tilted camera angles as she climbs up the stairs. Once again, the feeling of continuity is disrupted, as she enters the room through the window. The main character discovers the telephone and the knife on the bed, which creates a feeling of unavoidable danger. She goes back to the window and it seems like there is no gravity, a quite common dream that probably most of us have.The main character now looks down and sees herself sleeping in the armchair, with the record player by her side and turns it off again.The circle begins again, as she approaches the window and sees herself running. This creates a feeling of her being trapped in a malefic circle, with no chance to change it.She then opens her gumshield and takes out the key, which to me symbolizes coming up with a solution to her suffering.The cloaked figure is now in the house and we get the feeling that death is coming for the main character.When the cloaked figure disappears, the main character finds the knife again, but this time she doesn t look scared at all C she looks like is now at peace with the fact she is about to die.The key appears in her mouth again and transforms into a knife, which clearly symbolizes that death in the answer.The three representations of the main character now gather around a table and play a bizarre surrealistic game, where they find out who will have to be the killer.The chosen one is now wearing strange glasses, which to me feels like a symbol of her, not seeing clearly.I found it quite fascinating, when the killer walks towards the sleeping woman and the surroundings change with each step C it starts out with a beach, then she steps on grass, then sidewalk and then lastly C onto the carpet in the h ouse. This, I think, represents the journey you have to make, when deciding to kill yourself. It is probably the hardest thing you could ever do and the steps represent exactly that.As the main character wakes up, the killer in the dream turns into her lover in reality, but we see the symbols from the dream around the room and the two start to mix together.The main character s lover is acting exactly like the cloaked figure and we realize the main character is blaming all her problems on him.As she happens the mirror that appears to be her lover s face, we see the sea down it, which is widely interpreted as a symbol of freedom.When her lover enters the house, we see the main character covered in mirror shards, dead. The mirror represents finally breaking free.All about my motherby Pedro AlmodovarTo Bette Davis, Gena Rowlands, Romy Schneider to allactresses who have played actresses, to all women who act, toall men who act and become women, to all the people who wantto be mothers. To my mother.Dedication, All About My Mother, 1999Pedro Almodovar is one of the most successful and well known Spanish directors of all time. He is illustrious for his movies, where he tries to explore the nature of being a woman. His movies, although quite complicated, nearly always have a big international success and are being shown in cinemas all over the world. You could say this one is a chick-flick for the more intellectual woman.All about my mother is another film about women suffering, with many characters and different stories, intertwining and showing different sides of womanhood. It is also worth mentioning that almost all the cast is female in this piece. This particular film declares that to be a woman you do not have to be born one, so we get characters like Lola and Agrado, who are transvestites.Almodovar always wish complicated stories and although he tries to make it as real as possible, the lives of the characters sometimes seem so dark, it made me question whet her there is actually too much drama involved.The film begins with mother and a son, Esteban and Manuela. I got the impression in the beginning that the story will revolve around Esteban, his wish to become a writer and the story he began to write about his mother. This illusion was soon shattered, when Esteban died after being hit by a car.The shot of him, lying on the ground for me was probably the most magnificent shot in the film C the camera takes Esteban s POV and spins around, before falling to the ground. We see his mother approaching Esteban is slow motion, her coat red, the colour of blood and taking the camera, Esteban s head, into her palms. As she screams and lets go, the camera slowly moves back to the ground. This way of showing the tragedy that happened adds to the drama so much more than a normal two-shot ever would.Manuela, who works as a transpose coordinator, is the one who has to give the consent to donor her boy s fondness this time. Searching for some kind of closure, she secretly follows the recipient after the operation. This crushes her completely and she decides to go to Barcelona, where she used to live with the boy s father, who is a enigma to the viewer so far.The focus from then on turns to the main character s relationships with other women she meets, her road to self-discovery and opening up once again.The different characters is what makes this movie interesting to watch. Although for the most part, it focuses on Manuela, we get a good glimpse at the lives of other women that surround her.This film, although so complicated and melodramatic, resembles real life as well C it makes us cry and muzzle with the women who are in it.Manuela, who loses her son, discovers she can deal with her grief helping others C she becomes a personal assistant to actress Huma, who is going through an emotional crisis, rescues Agrado from an anger client and helps pregnant nun Rosa through her pregnancy.Film references are very important in th is piece as well C it begins with the mother and son watching All about Eve , which resembles the film s name and gives Esteban the idea how to call his work.Another significant film that is constantly brought up is A streetcar named desire . The main character, Manuela once played Stella in a drama group, when she was younger and this piece holds a special meaning to her, since she also met Esteban s father there, who played Kowalski.After so many years, due to the original actress not being able to perform, Manuela has to play Stella s part once again. This, for me, is a key point in the story, when the main character lets go and releases her pain. I found it interesting, because by acting, and pretending to be somebody else, she could finally be herself and cry out loud.The colour scheme in the movie is quite controversial and has been criticized many times for overshadowing the actual story. Just like in Pierrot Le Fou we see red, blue and yellow dominating, but the two movies are so different, it makes you wonder whether the colour scheme is appropriate in All about my mother .In my opinion, the colours are completely suitable and well thought out, because in a way they represent the colourful life and characters of the women in the film and by losing the colours the film would lose a bit of it s soul as well.Overall, I enjoyed watching All about my mother C Pedro Almodovar is one of the directors who really tries to understand women and what it s like to be one. I found the film really emotional and touching, Almodovar knows how to create a bond between a character and a viewer, so you end up really involved with the story and the destinies that these women have as well as getting to know individuals like Agrado and Lola who to some viewers might be a mystery and really hard to understand.The 400 Blowsby Francois TruffautThe 400 Blows is a very important film, which started the French new-fangled Wave. It introduced another level of cinematic experienc e through cinematography, acting and much more naturalistic look and feel to the movie, which, for today s viewer, might be really hard to imagine.The camera in The 400 Blows moves around much more freely and more smoothly, and besides recording, starts to tell the story with it s movement as well. Different angles and camera positions are introduced.Antoine Doinel seems like an ordinary boy, who seems to get in trouble wherever he goes, his teacher constantly punishes him for the slightest mischief, his mother disregards him as simply being a gaga of space and the beginning of his teenage years is proving to be a real hassle for young Antoine. He soon finds out his mother is having an affair, but we can see the boy is not bothered at all C he is much more concerned whether he ll get in trouble for skipping school. Later that day when his father comes back home and announces that the mother won t be joining them for dinner, it seems that Antoine is hoping that she will never come b ack, when he asks the father if she has left for good. This establishes the fact that the relationship between Antoine and his mother is less than perfect.For myself, it was hard to watch how the adults treat Antoine it seems there is zippo at all, when it comes to adults, who understand him. He sleeps on his tiny bed, lonely, disposable, like the folderal he has to take out every night.Although Antoine is disregarded as futureless and simply ungifted he, as many children of his age, is simply starting to question the corpse and the fact he does not perform well in order certainly does not mean he is not capable. This film serves parents who find it hard to understand their children, because we get a glimpse of how hard it sometimes is to be a teenager C parents seem to forget it.It is much like a documentary in a sense that we observe Antoine, an ordinary boy and his transformation to a young man, as well as the work of camera being hand-held.For a short time in the movie, see ms like the family has come back together and Antoine does not feel isolated anymore, but after failing yet another paper in class, he runs away once again and stays with his friend.I think one of the most important scenes in the film, since it represents French virgin Wave, is the scene where small children are watching Little Red sit Hood . Their expressions, reactions to the play are so genuine and lack that over the top acting, that the viewers who sat in the cinema theatre, watching the movie in 1959 should have been fascinated. And they were, since the cinema was never the same again.The main actor s Jean-Pierre Leaud s performance in the scene where Antoine is being questioned by the psychologist once again brings me back to think of this film as a documentary C the acting is extremely believable and it is hard to tell yourself that it is a character, not a real person in front of you.The most famous scene of the film, of course, is the scene where Antoine runs away from th e Juvenile detainment Centre. There are two extremely long tracking shots, that break the conventions of cinema and stay with the subject for much longer than usual, but this is exactly what fascinates the viewer. His run symbolizes his long and constant search for freedom, and his desperate wish to be acknowledged.His last look at the camera to me looked like he was sentiment And what do I do now..? This last shot has been widely interpreted, but to me it feels like he has reached the sea, but he cannot escape from himself.When watching this film, I thought about how lucky I was to have a childhood, and that many kids grow up all too soon. My mother used to say that you can tell if a person was loved, when they were little. This all applies to Antoine C he grows up too soon, due to the time he lives in, his parents not feel for enough, the educating system failing to acknowledge his efforts to study and him wanting to be noticed, even if it s for misbehaving.Even to this day, Th e 400 Blows is a remarkable film, which has and still is influencing many directors.

John F. Kennedy :: essays research papers

John F. Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States (1961-1963). He was the youngest person ever to be elected president. Also, He was the first papist Catholic president and the first president to be born in the 20the century. He served in humanity War II on PT boat. He also helped to solve the Cuban Missile Crisis and started Peace of army corps to help 3rd world countries better them selves. Kennedy was assassinated before he completed his third year as president. Therefore, his achievements were limited. He was shot in the head and died within an hour. Kennedy was born on May 29,1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was the second of nine children of Joseph Patrick Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. "The other children in the family were Joseph, Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Robert, Jean, and Edward."(Encarta 95). "The Kennedys were an participating family. With 11 people in the house, someone was always busy. The children took swimming, sailing, and tennis lessons."(Potts, Steve - 7). The Kennedy family had long been active in politics. His brothers Robert and Edward Kennedy also entered politics. Kennedys both grand perplexs had been active in politics. His father was a self-made millionaire. He served as first chairman of the Securities and tack Commission and as U.S. ambassador to Great Britain during the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Kennedys family called him jack. He and his older brother Joe were strong rivals. Jack was quiet and often shy, exactly held his owns in fights with Joe. "The boys enjoyed playing touch football."(The World Book Encyclopedia, 261). His childhood was in effect(p) of sports, fun and activity. This all ended when he grew up old adequate to leave for school. Kennedy attended elementary schools in Brookline and Riverdale. "In 1930, when he was 13 years old, his father sent him to the Canterbury School in New Milford, Conn." (The World Book Encyclope dia, 261). One year later, he transferred to Choate Academy in Wallingford, Coon. He graduated from Choate in 1935 at the age of 18. He was promised a charge to London as a graduation gift but he became ill with jaundice and would have to go to the hospital. He spent the recess of the summer trying to recover. He was not entirely well when he started Princeton, several weeks later in the fall of 1935. The jaundice returned and he had to pull down out of school.

Besires Theory is Fully Consistant with the Humean View Essay -- Ethic

AbstractOne Humean go out holds that motivation requires beliefs and desires, which be separate anddistinct mental states. Beliefs are dispose to run the world, and desires are disposed to make theworld fit them. This scene is thought to eliminate besire possible action, according to which moraljudgments have both a world-mind direction of fit by representing the ethical facts of the matter,and a mind-world direction of fit by motivating action accordingly. Here I argue that besires arefully consistent with the Humean view. The Humean view should be cast at the direct of types,while besire theory is supported by introspection on psychological tokens. Existent Humeanarguments against besires do not go through, and besire theory remains a viable optionindeed,the option best supported by the take the standwithout rejecting the Humean view.1A Case for Besires tally to the Humean view of motivation, beliefs alone cannot motivate. Accordingbesire theory,1 more or less first perso n moral judgments (judgments of the form I chastely ought to )are both belief-like and desire-like in that they represent things as they morally are, and motivateappropriate actions. For example, on besire theory my judgment I ought to visit my gran in the hospital can both represent a literal moral obligation and motivate me tovisit my grandmother without the help of some separate desire-type psychological state.Can besire theory be right? non under the Humean view, for on that view besire theorymistakenly attri only whenes motivationally hot, desire-like properties to a plastered class of beliefs. Itwould seem that our options are highly constrained either we coddle the Humean view, andcharacterize first person moral judgments as belie... ...o necessary connections in the midst of distinct mental state tokens, simpliciter internalism entailsbesire theory.12 Shafer-Landau argues for a similar position, though he calls some beliefs intrinsicallymotivating. Shafer-Landau 2004, 147-48.13 Only when we combine besire theory with an essentialist claim, for example, that no statecounts as a besire unless it actually motivates, do we take off the result that moral judgmentsnecessarily motivate. This essentialist claim is too strong for all desire-type state, for evenoccurent, normal desires combined with relevant means-related beliefs can fail to fool theirfunctional role.14 One might think that the standard cognitive view of moral judgments evades the burden ofshowing how moral motivation fails, but thereby gains the burden of explaining the reliableconnection between moral judgments and motivation.

Culture :: essays papers

floricultureThe peck of Aruba come primarily from European, African, and Latin American countries and the culture of the island reflects these varied backgrounds. The lyric poem, food, religion, and celebrations on Aruba ar composed of a hygienic mix of these countries. Aruba is closely fasten to Holland because of its long occupation and present union in the Netherlands kingdom. The official language is Dutch, which is seen on the street signs, official documents, and umteen a(prenominal) topical anaesthetic newspapers. However, many aspects of Arubas culture reveal strong influences of contribute cultures, such as the common language Papiamento. Papiamento dates back to the sixteenth century, as a means for African slaves to communicate with their owners. Papiamento reflects the mentality and culture of the many peoples who have inhabited the region, including the Arawak and Carib Indians, African slaves, South American traders, Spanish conquers, Dutch merchants, P ortuguese missionaries, and French and side of meat settlers. While grammar is basic, many non-Arubans find its syntax and intonation challenging. Much of Papiamento has been pass on down verbally from generation to generation. Its proverbs carry a simply give tongue to wealth of philosophy and insight. Through whim and metaphor, utilizing food, animals, and objects from everyday life, Papiamento lends universal centering and wisdom. Some popular phrases atomic number 18 Bon Dia for dear(p) morning, and Masha Danki for thank you.Aruban food is simple(a) in preparation and taste. Mostly cook without a lot of mark or spice, chicken, angle and vegetables are frequently accompanied by local vegetables such as corn, broccoli, potatoes or rice. Johnnycakes are fried biscuits prepared with spline fish (bacalaw) from Canada and Norway, which are popular in Aruba. Also popular are stews of beef, chicken, and goat, with ingredients of a cucumber called concomber and rice with gloomy beans. Stuffed cheese, called keeshi yena, is a traditional Aruban looker dating back to the days of the Dutch West India Company. It was originally make by hollowing out the round Dutch cheeses and stuffing them with a admixture of chicken, vegetables, and spices. More modern recipes include raisins, grated cheese, boodlecrumbs, olives, capers, and gherkins, and beef, fish or shrimp is sometimes used in lieu of chicken. lots eaten in place of bread is a cornmeal pudding equivalent to polenta. Slaves brought this recipe to the Caribbean from West Africa.Culture essays papersCultureThe people of Aruba come primarily from European, African, and Latin American countries and the culture of the island reflects these varied backgrounds. The language, food, religion, and celebrations on Aruba are composed of a healthy mix of these countries. Aruba is closely tied to Holland because of its long occupation and present partnership in the Netherlands kingdom. The official language is Dutch, which is seen on the street signs, official documents, and many local newspapers. However, many aspects of Arubas culture reveal strong influences of contributing cultures, such as the common language Papiamento. Papiamento dates back to the sixteenth century, as a means for African slaves to communicate with their owners. Papiamento reflects the mentality and culture of the many peoples who have inhabited the region, including the Arawak and Carib Indians, African slaves, South American traders, Spanish conquers, Dutch merchants, Portuguese missionaries, and French and English settlers. While grammar is basic, many non-Arubans find its syntax and intonation challenging. Much of Papiamento has been handed down verbally from generation to generation. Its proverbs contain a simply stated wealth of philosophy and insight. Through humor and metaphor, utilizing food, animals, and objects from everyday life, Papiamento lends universal guidance and wisdom. Some popular phrases are Bon Dia for good morning, and Masha Danki for thank you.Aruban food is simple in preparation and taste. Mostly grilled without a lot of grease or spice, chicken, fish and vegetables are often accompanied by local vegetables such as corn, broccoli, potatoes or rice. Johnnycakes are fried biscuits prepared with slat fish (bacalaw) from Canada and Norway, which are popular in Aruba. Also popular are stews of beef, chicken, and goat, with ingredients of a cucumber called concomber and rice with black beans. Stuffed cheese, called keeshi yena, is a traditional Aruban dish dating back to the days of the Dutch West India Company. It was originally made by hollowing out the round Dutch cheeses and stuffing them with a mixture of chicken, vegetables, and spices. More modern recipes include raisins, grated cheese, breadcrumbs, olives, capers, and gherkins, and beef, fish or shrimp is sometimes used in lieu of chicken. Often eaten in place of bread is a cornme al pudding similar to polenta. Slaves brought this recipe to the Caribbean from West Africa.