Reasons to Make Capital Punishment Illegal Essay example -- Papers Arg

Capital punishment is one of the most debated topics in the nation today. Since colonial times, more than 13,000 people have been legally executed and a large percentage of these executions occurred during the early 1900's. In the 1930's, approximately 150 people were being legally executed each year. However, the number of executions started to decrease, as public outrage became apparent. Currently, over 3,500 people are on death row. The death penalty violates the Eight Amendment because the act is cruel and unusual, and because the punishment discriminates against the poor and the minorities, the punishment also violates the Fourteenth Amendment. Surprisingly, many victims on death row are mentally retarded or disabled. Unfortunately, the death penalty has many supporters, and their main claim to why the death penalty should be constitutional is that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime, but research has proved their claim to be false. The most disturbing factor of al l is that a significant number of the inmates are innocent. For many reasons, capital punishment should be illegal throughout the nation. Capital punishment is not acceptable because it is unconstitutional. Capital punishment has been proven to violate the Eighth Amendment, which is the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. It is also a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees equal protection of the laws and due process. The death penalty, which was legal with no objections through the 1900's, became a controversial issue in 1972. In 1972, the Furman vs. Georgia trial caused the Supreme Court to cancel hundreds of scheduled executions and t... ...lty is a cruel and unusual punishment, and secondly, the Fourteenth Amendment, since it displays unequal protection of the laws and due process. Racial discrimination, sex discrimination, and socio-economic class discrimination are factors that unfairly decide the death penalty. The last two reasons that support the claim that the death penalty should be illegal are the risks of executing an innocent person and the obvious fact that the death penalty does not deter crime. For these reasons, capital punishment should be illegal throughout the nation. Bibliography: Bedau, Peter. Death is Different. Massachusetts: Northeastern University Press, 1987. Kaminer, Wendy. It’s All the Rage: Crime and Culture. New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1995. Vilbig, Peter. â€Å"Innocent on Death Row.† New York Times Upfront 18 Sept 2000: 1-11.

Blindside Movie Analysis Essay

I am writing an essay that is analyzing the movie The Blind Side and relating it to the essay â€Å"Seeking and Making Culture: Representing the Poor† by bell hooks. The issue that is motivating me to write is to show that there is collateral learning in this movie and to show that there are contradictory and stereotypical images of poverty. A writer that has addressed the issue about poverty and the poor class is bell hooks, using her personal experiences to influence her writing in the essay. My working thesis is that there is chances in life that a person may come along that would change our life perspectives. How we approach that change and be courageous enough to do something about it may have a lifelong impact on another person and might make a huge difference. My audience is teenagers, young adults and adults to help them get rid of the stereotypical image of poor people in the world. I think my use of specific details from the movie is working best. The parts of my ess ay that I am least satisfied with are tying the article from hooks back to the movie. The kinds of feedback that I would like are to make sure I answered all of the questions of WAR and that I was specific enough in my essay. The Blind Side describes the struggle of a Black man to become part of the White society. Michael Oher, the main character in the story shows the audience how a black man experiences mistreatment and discrimination from his white community that is the common trend of American mainstream. However, the film also wants to deconstruct the traditional perceptions towards White Americans through the Tuohy family. In this movie, the  director shows how White Americans like the Tuohy family accepts Michael for who he is and what he wants to be. The Tuohys become Michael’s enduring power, armor, and salvation as he faces his new path of transformation, social acceptance, and immersion. From this sense, it can be perceived that Hancock’s film depicts the notion of popular culture as it emphasizes the different issues of the society such as race, racism, cultural differences, cultural interaction, and other ideas about culture and society. Having an extreme difference in terms o f race, lifestyle, social background, and social status, the two races are combined together under one roof to describe the possible repulsion that might occur as well as the attraction that can happen between them. However, it is not only this internal repulsion or attraction that is presented as a conflict of the film, but also the people within the Tuohys social surroundings. Since Leigh Anne and Sean are influential individuals because of their profession, people around them think that adopting Michael taints their good reputation. This is one of the major struggles of the Tuohy family along with Michael, but they stand up against their foes and prove to these people that Michael is more civilized than those who continue to criticize him. In article â€Å"Seeing and Making Culture: Representing the Poor†, bell hooks brings to the surface issues involving people of higher classes compared to those in poverty. In addressing issues like assumptions made about the poor, how the poor are viewed in popular culture and how the poor are represented on television or in movies. One of hooks main arguments is brought into focus throughout the movie. The concept of popular culture emerges in this film in three distinct themes: racism within the football team, the lifestyle of the socialites, and when an upcoming superstar is â€Å"made,† people keep an eye on this individual. Logically, racism occurs in television, radio, movies, and other types of media. Most of the time, these industries use racism as a form of stereotyping. That is why common people utilize these ideals; they think that it is accepted in the society. This is what happened to Michael. He faces discrimination inside his own classroom. Even his teacher demonstrates the differences of how a White teacher interacts with a Black student like him. It is a form of stereotype that the media continues to express towards its audience. Another example of popular culture in this film is when Michael begins his football career. When the football coach,  Burt Cotton sees Michael’s potential, he accepts the main character as a student of Wingate Christian School. This is also the beginning of Michael’s popularity. People, even the coaches and owners of different universities, want Michael to become part of their school. That is why despite Michael’s academic records and race, they are interested in him. People begin to keep their eyes on Michael’s actions and achievements because he becomes popular and he soon becomes part of their lifestyle. In hooks article, one of her main arguments is about false assumptions made about the poor from her life experiences. She states, â€Å"That the poor class were almost always portrayed the poor as shiftless, mindless, lazy, dishonest, and unworthy†. This relates to the movie because the Tuohys community has specific sets of moral values. They believe that Black Americans are unacceptable within their community or surroundings because they are the roots of negativities. This is also an example of high culture being looked at as a superior culture. The Tuohys do not change this norm, but they create their own values by accepting Michael and believe in him and his capabilities as a person. The Blindside and hooks article helps us learn that there is more to a story then just what is put on the screen. The story line is a lot deeper and has a lot of other meanings then we think. The Tuohys’ ideology is different from the standard culture of the society, but because they are part of their community, they have to express their ideology. It is hard in the beginning to show their different point of view, but they win the battle against their foes because Michael shows that he is different from the stereotypic character of a Black American. Work Cited Greene, Stuart, and April Lidinsky. From Inquiry to Academic Writing: A Text and Reader. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St.Martins, 2008. 344-49, 358-71. Print.

Social Studies: The Invasion of Kuwait

Social studies notes Chapter 1 The Invasion of Kuwait, also known as the Iraq-Kuwait War, was a major conflict between the Republic of Iraq and the State of Kuwait, which resulted in the seven-month long Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, which subsequently led to direct military intervention by United States-led forces in the Gulf War. [edit] Dispute over the financial debt Kuwait had heavily funded the 8 year long Iraqi war against Iran. By the time the war ended, Iraq was not in a financial position to repay the $14 billion it borrowed from Kuwait to finance its war. 6] Iraq argued that the war had prevented the rise of Iranian influence in the Arab World. However, Kuwait's reluctance to pardon the debt created strains in the relationship between the two Arab countries. During late 1989, several official meetings were held between the Kuwaiti and Iraqi leaders but they were unable to break the deadlock between the two. [edit] Economic warfare and slant drilling According to George Piro, the FBI interrogator who questioned Saddam Hussein after his capture (in 2003), Iraq tried repaying its debts by raising the prices of oil through OPEC's oil production cuts. However, Kuwait, a member of the OPEC, prevented a global increase in petroleum prices by increasing its own petroleum production, thus lowering the price and preventing recovery of the war-crippled Iraqi economy. [7] This was seen by many in Iraq as an act of aggression, further distancing the countries. The collapse in oil prices had a catastrophic impact on the Iraqi economy. According to former Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz, â€Å"every US$1 drop in the price of a barrel of oil caused a US$1 billion drop in Iraq's annual revenues triggering an acute financial crisis in Baghdad. [5] It was estimated that Iraq lost US$14 billion a year due to Kuwait's oil price strategy. [8] The Iraqi Government described it as a form of ‘economic warfare,' which it claimed was aggravated by Kuwait's alleged slant-drilling across the border into Iraq's Rumaila field. The dispute over Rumaila field started in 1960 when an Arab League declaration marked the Iraq-Kuwait border 2 miles north of the southern-most tip of the Rumaila field. [9] During the Iran–Iraq War, Iraqi oil drilling operations in Rumaila declined while Kuwait's operations increased. In 1989, Iraq accused Kuwait of using â€Å"advanced drilling techniques† to exploit oil from its share of the Rumaila field. Iraq estimated that US$2. 4 billion worth of Iraqi oil was stolen by Kuwait and demanded compensation. [10][11] Kuwait dismissed the accusations as a false Iraqi ploy to justify military action against it. Several American firms working in the Rumaila field also dismissed Iraq's slant-drilling claims as a â€Å"smokescreen to disguise Iraq's more ambitious intentions†. [9] [edit] Kuwait's lucrative economy After the Iran–Iraq War, the Iraqi economy was struggling to recover. Iraq's civil and military debt was higher than its state budget. Most of its ports were destroyed, oil fields mined, and traditional oil customers lost. Despite having a total land area 1/25th of Iraq, Kuwait's coastline was twice as long as Iraq's and its ports were some of the busiest in the Persian Gulf region. The Iraqi government clearly realized that by seizing Kuwait, it would be able to solve most of its financial problems and consolidate its regional authority. Due to its relatively small size, Kuwait was seen by Baghdad as an easy target as well as a historically integral part of Iraq separated by British imperialism. The Persian Gulf War (2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991), commonly referred to as the Gulf War, and also known as the First Gulf War[12][13], the Second Gulf War,[14][15] by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein as The Mother of all Battles,[16] and commonly as Desert Storm for the military response, was the final conflict, which was initiated with United Nations authorization, by a coalition force from 34 nations against Iraq, with the expressed purpose of expelling Iraqi forces from Kuwait after its invasion and annexation on 2 August 1990. The invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi troops that began 2 August 1990 was met with international condemnation, and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the UN Security Council. U. S. President George H. W. Bush deployed American forces to Saudi Arabia and urged other countries to send their own forces to the scene. An array of nations joined the Coalition of the Gulf War. The great majority of the military forces in the coalition were from the United States, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Egypt as leading contributors, in that order. Around US$40 billion of the US$60 billion cost was paid by Saudi Arabia. [17] The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial bombardment on 17 January 1991. This was followed by a ground assault on 23 February. This was a decisive victory for the coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait and advanced into Iraqi territory. The coalition ceased their advance, and declared a cease-fire 100 hours after the ground campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, and areas on the border of Saudi Arabia. However, Iraq launched missiles against coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia. Further information: Iraq-United States relations Throughout much of the Cold War, Iraq had been an ally of the Soviet Union, and there was a history of friction between it and the United States. The U. S. was concerned with Iraq's position on Israeli–Palestinian politics, and its disapproval of the nature of the peace between Israel and Egypt. The U. S. also disliked Iraqi support for various Arab and Palestinian militant groups such as Abu Nidal, which led to its inclusion on the developing U. S. list of state sponsors of international terrorism on 29 December 1979. The U. S. remained officially neutral after the invasion of Iran, which became the Iran–Iraq War, although it assisted Iraq covertly. In March 1982, however, Iran began a successful counteroffensive – Operation Undeniable Victory, and the United States increased its support for Iraq to prevent Iran from forcing a surrender. In a U. S. bid to open full diplomatic relations with Iraq, the country was removed from the U. S. ist of state sponsors of terrorism. Ostensibly this was because of improvement in the regime’s record, although former United States Assistant Secretary of Defense Noel Koch later stated, â€Å"No one had any doubts about [the Iraqis'] continued involvement in terrorism†¦ The real reason was to help them succeed in the war against Iran. â€Å"[18] With Iraq's new found success in the war, and its rebuff of a peace offer in July, arms sales to Iraq reached a record sp ike in 1982. An obstacle, however, remained to any potential U. S. -Iraqi relationship – Abu Nidal continued to operate with official support in Baghdad. When Iraqi President Saddam Hussein expelled the group to Syria at the United States' request in November 1983, the Reagan administration sent Donald Rumsfeld to meet President Hussein as a special envoy and to cultivate ties. Main article: Invasion of Kuwait By the time the ceasefire with Iran was signed in August 1988, Iraq was virtually bankrupt, with most of its debt owed to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Iraq pressured both nations to forgive the debts, but they refused. Kuwait was also accused by Iraq of exceeding its OPEC quotas and driving down the price of oil, thus further hurting the Iraqi economy. The collapse in oil prices had a catastrophic impact on the Iraqi economy. The Iraqi Government described it as a form of economic warfare, which it claimed was aggravated by Kuwait slant-drilling across the border into Iraq's Rumaila oil field. [19] Iraq claimed Kuwait had been a part of the Ottoman Empire's province of Basra. Its ruling dynasty, the al-Sabah family, had concluded a protectorate agreement in 1899 that assigned responsibility for its foreign affairs to Britain. Britain drew the border between the two countries, and deliberately tried to limit Iraq's access to the ocean so that any future Iraqi government would be in no position to threaten Britain's domination of the Persian Gulf. Iraq refused to accept the border, and did not recognize the Kuwaiti government until 1963. [20] In early July, Iraq complained about Kuwait's behavior, such as not respecting their quota, and openly threatened to take military action. On the 23rd, the CIA reported that Iraq had moved 30,000 troops to the Iraq-Kuwait border, and the U. S. naval fleet in the Persian Gulf was placed on alert. On the 25th, Saddam Hussein met with April Glaspie, an American ambassador, in Baghdad. At that meeting, Glaspie told the Iraqi delegation, â€Å"We have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts. † On the 31st, negotiations between Iraq and Kuwait in Jeddah failed violently. [21] On 2 August 1990 Iraq launched an invasion with its warplanes, bombing Kuwait City, the Kuwaiti capital. The main thrust was conducted by commandos deployed by helicopters and boats to attack the city, while other divisions seized the airports and two airbases. In spite of Iraqi sabre-rattling, Kuwait did not have its forces on alert, and was caught unaware. After two days of intense combat, most of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces were either overrun by the Iraqi Republican Guard, or had escaped to neighboring Saudi Arabia. After the decisive Iraqi victory, Saddam Hussein installed his cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid as the governor of Kuwait. [22] Saddam Hussein detained several Westerners, with video footage shown on state television On 23 August 1990 President Saddam appeared on state television with Western hostages to whom he had refused exit visas. In the video, he patted a small British boy named Stuart Lockwood on the back. Saddam then asks, through his interpreter, Sadoun al-Zubaydi, whether Stuart is getting his milk. Saddam went on to say, â€Å"We hope your presence as guests here will not be for too long. Your presence here, and in other places, is meant to prevent the scourge of war. [23] Within hours of the invasion, Kuwaiti and U. S. delegations requested a meeting of the UN Security Council, which passed Resolution 660, condemning the invasion and demanding a withdrawal of Iraqi troops. On 3 August the Arab League passed its own resolution, which called for a solution to the conflict from within the League, and warned against outside intervention. On 6 August UN Resolution 661 placed economic sanctions on Iraq . United Nations Security Council Resolution 665 followed soon after, which authorized a naval blockade to enforce the economic sanctions against Iraq. It said the â€Å"use of measures commensurate to the specific circumstances as may be necessary †¦ to halt all inward and outward maritime shipping in order to inspect and verify their cargoes and destinations and to ensure strict implementation of resolution 661. †[24] One of the main concerns of the west was the significant threat Iraq posed to Saudi Arabia. Following the conquest of Kuwait, the Iraqi army was within easy striking distance of Saudi oil fields. Control of these fields, along with Kuwaiti and Iraqi reserves, would have given Hussein control over the majority of the world's oil reserves. Iraq also had a number of grievances with Saudi Arabia. The Saudis had lent Iraq some 26 billion dollars during its war with Iran. The Saudis backed Iraq, as they feared the influence of Shia Iran's Islamic revolution on its own Shia minority (most of the Saudi oil fields are in territory populated by Shias). After the war, Saddam felt he should not have to repay the loans due to the help he had given the Saudis by stopping Iran. Soon after his conquest of Kuwait, Hussein began verbally attacking the Saudi kingdom. He argued that the U. S. supported Saudi state was an illegitimate and unworthy guardian of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. He combined the language of the Islamist groups that had recently fought in Afghanistan with the rhetoric Iran had long used to attack the Saudis. [25] Acting on the policy of the Carter Doctrine, and out of fear the Iraqi army could launch an invasion of Saudi Arabia, U. S. President George H. W. Bush quickly announced that the U. S. would launc h a â€Å"wholly defensive† mission to prevent Iraq from invading Saudi Arabia under the codename Operation Desert Shield. â€Å"Operation Desert Shield† began on 7 August 1990 when U. S. troops were sent to Saudi Arabia due also to the request of its monarch, King Fahd who had earlier called for U. S. military assistance. [26] This â€Å"wholly defensive† doctrine was quickly abandoned, as on 8 August, Iraq declared Kuwait to be the 19th province of Iraq and Saddam Hussein named his cousin, Ali Hassan Al-Majid as its military-governor. [27] Liberation of Kuwait Main article: Liberation of Kuwait campaign American decoy attacks by air attacks and naval gunfire the night before the liberation of Kuwait were designed to make the Iraqis believe the main coalition ground attack would focus on Central Kuwait. On 23 February 1991, the 1st Marine Division, 2nd Marine Division, and the 1st Light Armored Infantry crossed into Kuwait and headed toward Kuwait City. They overran the well designed, but poorly defended, Iraqi trenches in the first few hours. The Marines crossed Iraqi barbed wire obstacles and mines, then engaged Iraqi tanks, which surrendered shortly thereafter. Kuwaiti forces soon attacked Kuwait City, to which the Iraqis offered light resistance. The Kuwaitis lost one soldier and one aircraft, and quickly liberated the city. Most Iraqi soldiers in Kuwait opted to surrender rather than fight. [edit] Initial moves into Iraq [edit] Coalition forces enter Iraq General Colin Powell briefs then U. S. President George H. W. Bush and his advisors on the progress of the ground war Shortly afterwards, the U. S. VII Corps assembled in full strength and, spearheaded by the 3rd Squadron of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment (3/2 ACR), launched an armored attack into Iraq early on 24 February, just to the west of Kuwait, taking Iraqi forces by surprise. Simultaneously, the U. S. XVIII Airborne Corps launched a sweeping â€Å"left-hook† attack across the largely undefended desert of southern Iraq, led by the 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment (3rd ACR) and the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized)). The left flank of this movement was protected by the French 6th Light Armoured Division Daguet). The French force quickly overcame the Iraqi 45th Infantry Division, suffering only a small number of casualties and taking a large number of prisoners, and took up blocking positions to prevent an Iraqi counter-attack on the Coalition flank. The right flank of the movement was protected by the British 1st Armoured Division. Once the allies had penetrated deep into Iraqi territory, they turned eastward, launching a flank attack against the elite Republican Guard before it could escape. The battle lasted only a few hours. 50 Iraqi armored vehicles were destroyed, with few coalition losses. On 25 February 1991 however, Iraq launched a scud missile attack on Coalition barracks in Dharan, Saudi Arabia. The missile attack killed 28 American military personnel. [44] The mixture of civilian and military vehicles on the Highway of Death The Coalition advance was much swifter than U. S. generals had expected. On 26 February, Iraqi troops began retreating from Kuwait, after they had set its oil fields on fire (737 oil wells were set on fire). A long convoy of retreating Iraqi troops formed along the main Iraq-Kuwait highway. Although they were retreating, this convoy was bombed so extensively by Coalition air forces that it came to be known as the Highway of Death. Hundreds of Iraqi troops were killed. Forces from the United States, the United Kingdom, and France continued to pursue retreating Iraqi forces over the border and back into Iraq, fighting frequent battles which resulted in massive losses for the Iraqi side and light losses on the coalition side, eventually moving to within 150 miles (240 km) of Baghdad before withdrawing from the Iraqi border. One hundred hours after the ground campaign started, on 28 February, President Bush declared a cease-fire, and he also declared that Kuwait had been liberated. CAUSES OF CONFLICT: There are three basic causes to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. First, Iraq had long considered Kuwait to be a part of Iraq. This claim led to several confrontations over the years (see below), and continued hostility. Also, it can be argued that with Saddam Hussein's attempted invasion of Iran defeated, he sought easier conquests against his weak southern neighbors. Second, rich deposits of oil straddled the ill-defined border and Iraq constantly claimed that Kuwaiti oil rigs were illegally tapping into Iraqi oil fields. Middle Eastern deserts make border delineation difficult and this has caused many conflicts in the region. Finally, the fallout from the First Persian Gulf War between Iraq and Iran strained relations between Baghdad and Kuwait. This war began with an Iraqi invasion of Iran and degenerated into a bloody form of trench warfare as the Iranians slowly drove Saddam Hussein's armies back into Iraq. Kuwait and many other Arab nations supported Iraq against the Islamic Revolutionary government of Iran, fearful that Saddam's defeat could herald a wave of Iranian-inspired revolution throughout the Arab world. Following the end of the war, relations between Iraq and Kuwait deteriorated; with a lack of gratitude from the Baghdad government for help in the war and the reawakening of old issues regarding the border and Kuwaiti sovereignty. 1973, March- Iraq occupies as-Samitah, a border post on Kuwait-Iraq border. Dispute began when Iraq demanded the right to occupy the Kuwaiti islands of Bubiyan and Warbah. Saudi Arabia and the Arab League convinced Iraq to withdraw. 1980-1988- Kuwait supports Iraq in the First Persian Gulf War with Iran. DESCRIPTION OF CONFLICT: Amid growing tension between the two Persian Gulf neighbors, Saddam Hussein concluded that the United States and the rest of the outside world would not interfere to defend Kuwait. On August 2, 1990, Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait and quickly seized control of the small nation. Within days, the United States, along with the United Nations, demanded Iraq's immediate withdrawal. U. S. and other UN member nations began deploying troops in Saudi Arabia within the week, and the world-wide coalition began to form under UN authority. By January of 1991, over half a million allied troops were deployed in Saudi Arabia and throughout the Gulf region. Intense diplomacy between U. S. and Iraqi officials failed to bring an Iraqi withdrawal, so, on January 16, 1991, Allied forces began the devastating bombing of Iraq and her forces in Kuwait. The Allied bombing sought to damage Iraq's infrastructure so as to hinder her ability to make war while also hurting both civilian and military morale. To counter the air attack, Saddam ordered the launching of his feared SCUD missiles at both Israel and Saudi Arabia. He hoped to provoke the Israelis into striking back at Iraq, which he theorized would split the Arab nations from the anti-Iraq coalition due to the ongoing hostility between Israel and the Arab world. Israel came very close to retaliating, but held back due to President George Bush's pledge to protect Israeli cities from the SCUDs. As a result of this promise, U. S. Patriot missile batteries found themselves deployed in Israel to shoot down the SCUDs. Another result of the SCUD launches was to divert Allied air power from hitting the Iraqi army to hunting for the elusive mobile missile launchers. Even so, the Allied air strikes and cruise missile attacks against Iraq proved more devastating than expected. When the Allied armies launched the ground war on February 23, the Iraqi occupation forces in Kuwait were already beaten. Cut off from their supply bases and headquarters by the intense air campaign, thousands of Iraqi soldiers simply gave up rather than fight, as the Allies pushed through Iraq's defenses with relative ease. In the few cases where the more elite Iraqi forces, such as the Republican Guard, stood and fought, superior American, British and French equipment and training proved the undoing of the Soviet-equipped Iraqis. By February 26, U. S. and Allied Arab forces, along with the underground Kuwaiti Resistance, controlled Kuwait City and Allied air forces pounded the retreating Iraqi occupation army. In southern Iraq, Allied armored forces stood at the Euphrates River near Basra, and internal rebellions began to break out against Saddam's regime. On February 27, President Bush ordered a cease-fire and the surviving Iraqi troops were allowed to escape back into southern Iraq. On March 3, 1991, Iraq accepted the terms of the cease-fire and the fighting ended. CONSEQUENCES OF CONFLICT: Saddam's second war of foreign conquest ended even worse than the first one. Iraq again stood defeated with the liberation of Kuwait. Despite the crushing defeat and subsequent Shiite and Kurdish rebellions, Saddam's government retained a strong grip on power in Iraq. As a result of the cease-fire terms, Iraq had to accept the imposition of â€Å"no-fly zones† over her territory and United Nations weapons inspection teams sifting through her nuclear and other weapons programs. The economic and trade sanctions begun during the war continue to the present day, ontributing to severe economic hardship in Iraq. Some reports say hundreds of thousands of children have died due to the sanctions. There are no indications that the government or military suffer undo hardships. While the world (and the United States and Europe), concentrated on Iraq, Syria moved to crush the last resistance to her de facto control of Lebanon, thus ending that country's long civil war. It is believed that Syria's President Assad was given a free hand to deal with Lebanon in return for joining the war in Kuwait. It's also believed there was a cash for annuity payment agreed upon When Yemen declared sympathy for Iraq, Saudi Arabia expelled upwards of a million Yemeni guest workers, causing economic hardship in Yemen and increased tension between the two neighbors. See Saudi-Yemen Border Conflict page. CASUALTY FIGURES: Update as of August 2, 2009 Iraq: Original figures listed 100,000 Iraqi military dead, but more recent estimates place Iraqi dead at 20,000 military and 2,300 civilian. United States: 148 killed in action, 458 wounded, and one Missing In Action (MIA). Also, 121 Americans died through non-combat incidents. The one MIA (compared to 1,740 MIA in the Vietnam War), was Navy pilot, Captain Michael â€Å"Scott† Speicher was shot down and was neither rescured, nor was a body found until, on August 2, 2009, the Pentagon announced that U. S. Marines stationed in Iraq had found Speicher's remains. See also: U. S. identifies remains of pilot missing in Persian Gulf War–LA Times, Aug. 2, 2009 Ironically, or perhaps intentionally, the Pentagon announced the recovery of Speicher's on the 19th anniversary of Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, which occurred on August 2, 1990, and sparked the following 19 years of war between the U. S. and Iraq. Gulf war (1990-1), a limited war in which a US-led coalition enjoying overwhelming technological superiority defeated the armed forces of Iraq in a six-week air campaign crowned with a 100-hour land campaign, with minimal coalition casualties. However, the coalition forces failed to destroy the Republican Guard, mainstay of the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who remained a threat primarily because of his continued development of nuclear and chemical and biological weapons, leading to repeated aftershocks in the form of US and Allied air strikes throughout the 1990s. The proximate cause was the Rumaila oilfield straddling the Iraq-Kuwait border. In mid-July 1990 Saddam claimed that Kuwait had stolen oil from this field by diagonal drilling and refused to pay back loans received from Kuwait to fund the recent Iran-Iraq war, saying that he had been doing the Gulf monarchies' dirty work for them. Neither argument was completely without merit. He massed armour on the frontier and after being told by the US ambassador that the USA did not wish to become involved in the dispute, at 01. 0 local time on 2 August the Iraqi columns invaded. Minds were concentrated and Pres Bush denounced the invasion, alarmed that the Iraqis would carry on into Saudi Arabia and thus control half the world's oil reserves. The UN condemned the invasion in Resolution 660, demanding immediate and unconditional withdrawal and on 7 August the USA announced it was sending forces in a joint operation with Egypt and Saudi Arabia: DESERT SHIELD. The following day the UK announced it would send forces too, in GRANBY. On 29 November 1990 the Security Council adopted Resolution 678, authorizing the USA-led coalition to use ‘all necessary means’ against Iraq to liberate Kuwait if it did not withdraw by 15 January 1991. Instead, the Iraqis reinforced their positions along the southern Kuwaiti border and by 8 January had an estimated 36 to 38 divisions, each nominally 15, 000 strong but actually considerably less. The coalition eventually had about 700, 000 troops in the theatre, with the main ground contributions coming from the USA and important contingents from the UK, France, Egypt, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, under the operational command of US Gen Schwarzkopf. The maintenance of the coalition, in which Arab states were arrayed with infidels against another Arab state, was pivotal. It was therefore imperative to ensure that Israel—a target for Iraqi missile attacks—should stay out of the war. The Iraqis were known to have the means to deliver their chemical and biological weapons (CBW) with their al-Hussein missiles, which had a range of 373 miles (600 km), double that of the original Soviet Scud missiles on which they were based. At 02. 38 local time on 17 January DESERT STORM began when US Apache helicopters began attacking Iraqi air defence sites near the border to clear a corridor through which a massive air armada then passed, beginning a 43-day air campaign involving 100, 000 sorties. The F-117A Stealth light bomber was very successful in striking key targets in heavily defended Baghdad, as were sea-launched cruise missiles. Early targets were the Iraqi air defences, electrical power, and command and control facilities, also suspected nuclear and chemical and biological warfare facilities. Although precision-guided munitions got all the publicity thanks to the excellent TV pictures they sent back, the bulk of the ordnance delivered were conventional bombs. As the campaign continued, the Allies switched to Iraqi ground forces although the elite Republican Guard was less badly damaged than the poorer quality infantry in the forward positions. Schwarzkopf later explained that this was because of his strong concern to avoid his ground troops being held up and rained with CBW. {draw:frame} _The Gulf war, 1991: the land campaign, 24-8 February. Top: positions of forces 24 February. Bottom: Allied envelopment of Iraqi forces (Click to enlarge)_ Early on 18 January Iraq responded to the air onslaught by attacking Israel, the coalition's most vulnerable point. A missile landed in Tel Aviv, initially reported to have a chemical warhead. The coalition later denied this but the relevant log, released after the war, recorded it carried cyclo-sarin, a particularly deadly nerve gas. Israel prepared to counter-attack, but was dissuaded when the USA promised to destroy the Scuds. As a result, a great deal of effort was diverted into the ‘Scud hunt’, although the mobile Iraqi missiles proved difficult to find. British and US special forces were also sent in to find and destroy Scuds, with mixed results. The US also used the Patriot, originally an anti-aircraft system, to shoot down incoming missiles, the first time anti-missiles were used in the history of war. Very few incoming missiles were actually hit and those that were broke up, possibly doing even more damage than they would have otherwise. On 20 January, Iraq also began firing missiles at Riyadh, one of which hit a temporary US barracks and inflicted the worst Allied casualties of the war. Schwarzkopf formulated a classic military plan of encirclement. While the Iraqis were to have their attention fixed to the south and on the coast by the US Marines, his main effort would be to the west of the main Iraqi forward defences, swinging round behind them and straight for the Republican Guard. The aim was ‘to conduct a swift, continuous and violent air-land campaign to destroy the Republican Guard Force Corps while minimising friendly force casualties. Aim is to make Iraqi forces move so that they can be attacked throughout the depth of their formations’. After several days of probing and artillery raids, the main ground attack began on 24 February with direct attacks into Kuwait from the south by the US Marines and two Saudi task forces. The next day, the outflanking forces swung into action, the main force being the US VII Corps including the 1st British Armoured Division, while the XVIII Airborne Corps including the French 6th Light ‘Daguet’ Division swung even wider to protect the left flank. The VII Corps hit its breach area with 60 batteries of artillery and Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, delivering more explosive power than the Hiroshima atomic bomb. Although Iraq was expected to use CBW, Saddam showed a little belated discretion and refrained, as there were a number of extremely unpleasant options the coalition held in reserve, including retaliation in kind or the destruction of Iraq's extremely vulnerable water-supply system. Late on 25 February he gave the order to withdraw from Kuwait, but the bulk of Iraqi armour was trapped between the Allies closing in from the south and west, and the Gulf and the Euphrates marshes to the east and north. TV pictures of the comprehensively incinerated Iraqi column that had been attempting to flee Kuwait City raised fears of public revulsion and Pres Bush called a halt after only 100 hours of land campaign. There were also geopolitical considerations. Until the invasion, the West had been concerned to maintain a balance of power between Iraq and Iran in the region, and the Arab members of the coalition might have bolted if the land war had been extended into Iraqi territory. At 08. 00 local time the guns fell silent, and Saddam was to be left with most of the Republican Guard and the freedom to use attack helicopters to crush the rebellions among the Sunni in the south and the Kurds in the north that the coalition had encouraged. Post-war, the extent and sophistication of his weapons development programmes came as a shock, and despite UN inspections and economic sanctions that affect mainly the civilian population, there is very little doubt that he has retained some CBW and possibly also some nuclear weapons. Nonetheless, Kuwait's territorial integrity was restored and most of Saddam's larger fangs were pulled. The war could only be considered unsuccessful if the hyperbole about human rights that accompanied it had ever been taken seriously by anyone involved. The first phase was Operation Desert Shield—a largely defensive operation in which the United States and Saudi Arabia rushed to build up the defensive forces necessary to protect Saudi Arabia and the rest of the gulf, and the United Nations attempted to force Iraq to leave Kuwait through the use of economic sanctions. The United States then led the UN effort to create a broad international coalition with the military forces necessary to liberate Kuwait, and persuaded the United Nations to set a deadline of 15 January 1991 for Iraq to leave Kuwait or face the use of force. The second phase, known as â€Å"Desert Storm,† was the battle to liberate Kuwait when Iraq refused to respond to the UN deadline. The fighting began on 17 January 1991 and ended on 1 March 1991. The UN Coalition liberated Kuwait in a little over six weeks, and involved the intensive use of airpower and armored operations, and the use of new military technologies. The Gulf War left Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in power, but it destroyed nearly all of Iraq's conventional forces and allowed the United Nations to destroy most of Iraq's long? range missiles and chemical weapons and capabilities to develop nuclear weapons. Saddam Hussein almost certainly saw the seizure and annexation of Kuwait as a means of solving Iraq's economic problems, of greatly increasing Iraq's share of world oil reserves, and as a means of demonstrating that Iraq had become the dominant power in the region. Kuwait was capable of adding at least 2 million barrels a day of oil to Iraq's exports of roughly 3. million, and offered the opportunity to double Iraq's total oil reserves, from 100 billion to 198 billion barrels (representing nearly 20% of the world's total reserves). Although he continued to negotiate his demands on oil revenues and debt relief from the Persian Gulf Arab nations, Saddam Hussein ordered his troops to the Kuwait border in July 1990, built up all of th e support capabilities necessary to sustain an invasion, and then ordered his forces to invade on 2 August 1990. Kuwait had not kept its forces on alert, and Iraq met little resistance. It seized the entire country within less than two days; within a week, Iraq stated that it would annex Kuwait as its nineteenth province. Iraqi forces also deployed along Kuwait's border with Saudi Arabia, with more than five Iraqi divisions in position to seize Saudi Arabia's oil? rich Eastern Province. Saudi Arabia had only two brigades and limited amounts of airpower to oppose them. Saddam Hussein may have felt that the world would accept his invasion of Kuwait or would fail to mount any effective opposition. However, Saudi Arabia and the other gulf states immediately supported the Kuwaiti government? n? exile. The Council of the Arab League voted to condemn Iraq on 3 August and demanded its withdrawal from Kuwait. Key Arab states like Algeria, Egypt, and Syria supported Kuwait—although Jordan, Libya, Mauritania, the Sudan, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) supported Iraq. Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and most other European nations as well as the United States, Canada, and Japan condemned the invasion. U. S. President George Bush announced on 7 August that the United States would send land, air, and naval forces to the gulf. Equally important, the end of the Cold War allowed the United Nations to take firm action under U. S. initiative. On the day of the invasion, the Security Council voted 14–0 (Resolution 660) to demand Iraq's immediate and unconditional withdrawal from Kuwait. The United States, Britain, and Saudi Arabia led the United Nations in forming a broad military coalition under the leadership of U. S. Army Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf that deployed the military forces necessary to enforce the United Nations' sanctions and to defend Saudi Arabia. This was the defensive military operation code? named â€Å"Desert Shield. † On 29 November 1990, the United States obtained a Security Council authorization for the nations allied with Kuwait â€Å"to use all necessary means† if Iraq did not withdraw by 15 January 1991. Key nations like the United States, Britain, France, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and several others began to deploy the additional forces necessary to drive Iraq out of Kuwait. In 1990–91, the United States deployed a total of 527,000 personnel, over 110 naval vessels, 2,000 tanks, 1,800 fixed? ing aircraft, and 1,700 helicopters. Britain deployed 43,000 troops, 176 tanks, 84 combat aircraft, and a naval task force. France deployed 16,000 troops, 40 tanks, attack helicopters, a light armored division, and combat aircraft. Saudi Arabia deployed 50,000 troops, 280 tanks, and 245 aircraft. Egypt contributed 30,200 troops, 2 armored divisions, and 350 tanks. Syria contributed 14,000 troops and 2 divi sions. Other allied nations, including Canada, Italy, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates deployed a significant portion of their small forces. Iraq responded by building up its military forces in the Kuwait theater of operations to a total of 336,000 troops and a total of 43 divisions, 3,475 battle tanks, 3,080 other armored vehicles, and 2,475 major artillery weapons. This buildup on both sides made full? scale war steadily more likely and triggered a number of political debates within the West and the Arab world over the need for war. The most important of these debates took place within the United States; largely because of President Bush's political leadership, the Congress, after Bush gained UN endorsement, requested such authorization on 8 January 1991. On 12 January the House of Representatives by 250 to 183 and the Senate by 52 to 47 voted to authorize the use of force. Though a number of new efforts were made to persuade Iraq to leave Kuwait in late December and early January, Saddam Hussein refused to withdraw under any practical conditions. Baghdad also continued to expand its military capabilities in Kuwait and along the Iraqi border with Saudi Arabia, and continued its efforts to convert Kuwait into an Iraqi province. As a result, the UN Security Council voted to ignore yet another effort to negotiate with Iraq. On that date, 15 January 1991, President Bush ordered the military offensive to begin. Desert Storm: The Air War The Gulf War began early in the morning on 17 January when the United States exploited its intelligence and targeting assets, cruise missiles, and offensive airpower to launch a devastating series of air attacks on Iraqi command and control facilities, communications systems, air bases, and land? based air defenses. During the first hour of the war, U. S. sea? launched cruise missiles and F? 117 stealth aircraft demonstrated they could attack even heavily defended targets like Baghdad. Within three days, a mix of U. S. , British, and Saudi fighter aircraft had established near air superiority. In spite of Iraq's air strength, UN air units shot down a total of thirty? five Iraqi aircraft without a single loss in air? to? air combat. Although Iraq had a land? based air defense system with some 3,000 surface? to? air missiles, the combined U. S. and British air units were able to use electronic warfare systems, antiradiation missiles, and precision air? to? surface weapons to suppress Iraq's longer? range surface? to? air missiles. As a result, Coalition air forces were able rapidly to broaden their targets from attacks on Iraq's air forces and air defenses to assaults on key headquarters, civil and army communications, electronic power plants, and Iraq's facilities for the production of weapons of mass destruction. Victory in the air was achieved by 24 January, when Iraq ceased to attempt active air combat. A total of 112 Iraqi aircraft fled to Iran, and Iraq virtually ceased to use its ground? based radar to target UN aircraft. This created a safe zone at medium and high altitudes that allowed U. S. nd British air units to launch long? range air? to? surface weapons with impunity. The UN air forces were also able to shift most of their assets to attacks on Iraqi ground forces. For the following thirty days, UN Coalition aircraft attacked Iraqi armor and artillery in the Kuwaiti theater of operations, as well as flying into Iraq itself to bomb Iraq's forward defenses, elite Republican Guard units, air bases an d sheltered aircraft, and Iraq's biological, chemical, and nuclear warfare facilities. Iraq's only ability to retaliate consisted of launching modified surface? to? urface Scud missiles against targets in Saudi Arabia and Israel, which had remained outside the war: forty Scud variants against Israel and forty? six against Saudi Arabia. U. S.? made Patriot missiles in Israel shot down some Scuds, but although the United Nations carried out massive â€Å"Scud hunts† that involved thousands of sorties, it never found and destroyed any Scud missiles on the ground, which demonstrated the risks posed by the proliferation of mobile, long? range missiles. Iraq's Scud strikes could not, however, alter the course of the war. Iraqi ground forces were struck by more than 40,000 air attack sorties; U. S. authorities estimated that airpower helped bring about the desertion or capture of 84,000 Iraqi soldiers and destroyed 1,385 Iraqi tanks, 930 other armored vehicles, and 1,155 artillery pieces before the United Nations launched its land offensive. They also estimated that air attacks severely reduced the flow of supplies to Iraqi ground forces in Kuwait and damaged 60 percent of Iraq's major command centers, 70 percent of its military communications, 125 ammunition storage revetments, 48 Iraqi naval vessels, and 75 percent of Iraq's electric power–generating capability. Desert Storm: The Land War The Aftermath of the War

Capital Structure and Corporate Performance

The assignment deals with the financial analysis of ratios of Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC). Maldives Transport and Contracting company is engaged in marine and land transport business and also has a separate division which deals with marine and land constructions. The company was one of the first public sector company which was established. The financial performance of the company is to be analyzed with the help of significant ratios. The major ratios which are to be analyzed for the company are liquidity, profitability and efficiency ratios. The analysis will be containing an insight of the capital structure of the company and stock performance of MTCC. Liquidity ratios are used to measure the liquidity of the company which means whether the business has enough liquid cash to meet the short-term liabilities of the company or not (Higgins 2012). In the liquidity ratio sub-head, the most significant ratios are current ratio, liquid ratio and cash ratio. As per the calculation shown, the current ratio of the company has first declined from 1.34 in 2014 to 1.28 in 2015 and then again increased to 1.34 in 2016. This shows that the company is more than capable of handling the short-term business requirements. If the current ratio of the company is above 1 then it signifies that the company is able to meet with the current short-term expenses of the business which MTCC has as stated above (Ahrendsen and Katchova 2012). An ideal current ratio is however 2:1, which means that the current assets must be twice of current liabilities. The quick ratio of the company shows that the ratio is on an increasing trend from 2014. The ratio increased from 0.96 in 2014 to 1.08 in 2016 as per calculations. This is a favorable result as the higher the quick ratio the more liquidity the business has and ideally quick ratio should be greater than 1. However, the ideal results of a quick ratio vary from industry to industry. The cash ratio of the company has decreased and the ratio suggest the real cash of the company is falling. The ratio however does not take into consideration account receivable and inventory and only considers cash and asset which are close to cash. The profitability ratios of the company measure the overall profitability of the company considering the significant areas such as gross profit, net profit, operating profit and similar other areas (Al Karim and Alam 2013). These ratios depict whether the company is performing well in terms of profitability or not. The gross profit ratio shows that the gross profit of the company first increases from 18.73% in 2014 to 23.84% in 2015 and then again decreases to 22% in 2016. The gross profit for the year 2016 has decreased which the company needs to improve and also analyze why the gross profit of the company fall during 2016. The net profit ratio of the company also shows a fluctuating and a similar result when compared to gross profit ratio. The net profit ratio of the company for the year 2016 show a ratio of 8.80% which is even lesser than the ratio result which was calculated for 2014 which is 10.57%. This is not a favorable sign for the business and therefore the business needs t o improve the same. Net profit ratio is a financial indicator and the company needs to improve the overall net profit of the company (Tugas 2012). The operating profit ratio also depicts a fluctuating result and has a similar result and analysis as gross profit ratio and net profit ratio of the company.   The return on assets and return on equity also show unfavorable results for the company in the year 2016. The return on asset has decreased from 0.9 in 2015 to 0.8 which is shown in 2016. The return on equity also shows a decreasing trend which was 30.22% in 2015 which has reduced to 18.70% in 2016 which is even lesser than the estimate of 2014. The next group of significant ratios which are to be considered are the efficiency ratio of the company. Such type of ratios generally covers all types of asset turnover ratio of the company. The receivable turnover ratio of the company shows how efficiently the company is able to collect the credit allowed on sales by the company. an high account receivable ratio signifies that the company has a strong credit policy and all credit operations are running smoothly. The receivable turnover ratio of the company shows that the ratio has increased in 2016 which is 1.59 and the same was 1.44 in 2015. Therefore, it suggests that there has been improvement in the receivable turnover ratio or collection policy of the company as the case may be. The inventory turnover ratio shows that the ratio has significantly increased in 2016 in comparison with 2015 results. The inventory ratio of the company for the year 2016 is 4.28 which is much more than previous two years results. The higher the inven tory turnover ratio the more favorable for the business as it will then portray a strong sales structure and lesser inventory in stocks (Ehiedu 2014). While lower inventory turnover ratio shows poor sales structure and more inventory capacity at hand of the company which is being unused by the company. The asset turnover ratio of the company also shows that the ratio has increased from the previous years results (Tehrani, Mehragan and Golkani 2012). The asset turnover ratio for the year 2016 is shown at 0.89. Asset turnover ratio measures the capability of the company to generate revenue or sales in comparison to the assets of the company. The next group of ratios is the capital structure ratio which measures the components of the capital structure of the company. The debt ratio of the company shows that the company’s debt ratio has decreased from the result of 2015. The debt ratio for 2015 was 0.61 which has reduced to 0.58 in 2016. From the perspective of risks debt ratios of any company are preferred to be lower as the risk is also low. In this case it can be said that it is favorable for the business of MTCC. The equity ratio shows how much equity capital has the business incorporated in the capital structure of the company. The equity ratio of the company has increased from 2015 which was 0.39 to 0.42 which is shown in 2016. This signifies that the company is now using more of equity in comparison to last year. The gearing ratio of the company shows the total debt which is used by the business in comparison to the equity capital of the business. It is similar to Debt equity ratio however it contains more va riations which can provide different results. The gearing ratio of the company 7.07% in 2016 which is lower than previous year figure as the company has reduced the debts of the company. This shows that the company is payoff the debt capital and incorporating more of equity capital in the capital structure mix of the company (Babalola and Abiola 2013). The debt equity ratio of the company shows that the ratio has reduced from 1.59 in 2015 to 1.40 in 2016 which also shows that the company is reducing the debt capital of the company. With the analysis of the debt equity ratio it is evident that the company is trying to restructure the capital structure of the company and add more of equity capital in the mix. However, the full benefit of the capital structure can be extracted when a certain balance is attained between debt and equity capital funds. The stock performance ratios are related and measures the performance of the company on the basis of valuation of stock or earning per shares or market value of shares (Delen, Kuzey and Uyar 2013). Earning per share is the measure of the company’s profit per share which is earned by the shareholders of the company (Brigham and Houston 2012). The earning per share of the company has fallen sharply from 312.76 in 2015 to 23.076 in 2016 which is a drastic fall. This is a serious concern for the business as if it is not improved than the company’s stock prices and market valuation will repeatedly fall. The dividend payout ratio show that the ratio is much more than previous year’s measure which shows that the company has declared dividend in spite of low Earning per share. Price earning ratio is the measure of the price which the investor pays for $ 1 profit in the company. The price earning ratio of the company has increased from the previous year results. The following recommendations can be offered to the company for improvement in the key financial ratios: Any business which is planning to start or establish itself in the market needs to plan out the financial requirement which the business needs. In other words, there are certain expenses which initially which the business must incur in order to establish the business in the market (Lee, Sameen and Cowling 2015). The two most popular form of business which can be open are partnership form of business and private limited companies. A partnership form of business is a business where two or more parties cooperate together in order to run a business. In case of partnership the liability of the partners may be unlimited or limited as per the agreement in the Partnership deed (Allen and Kraakman 2016). Whereas in a Private Limited Company the shareholders are the owners of the company, however the company is operated by board of directors who are representatives of the shareholders of the company. The liability in a company is limited to the number of shares which is held by the shareholders of the company. Moreover, a company is regarded as a legal person whereas a partnership form of business does not enjoy such a right 9Burns 2016). Both the above forms of businesses require initial capital to start up the business and also long-term finances for smooth operation of the business. In case of partnership form of business, the various options of financing which are available are: Personal Savings: In a partnership form of business personal savings is an important source of finance. The partners of the firm contribute to the total capital of the firm and operates in a similar fashion whenever there is additional requirement of funds (Gbandi and Amissah 2014). In case of a startup partnership business, generally individuals resort to capital contributions which will be made by the partners of the firm to meet the start up cost of the business instead of taking a loan from banks. The amount which is contributed by the partners are the basis on which the profit which is earned by the firm is distributed among the partners unless otherwise agreed upon. Retained profits: The profits which are earned by the firm are reinvested in the business in many cases which is then used as reserves or retained earnings. However. such type of financing cannot be done in the initial years of the business but for long term financing purpose of the business (Fairfield and Jorratt De Luis 2016). This is the most productive type of financing as it does not create a burden on the business as in the case of debts and also the partners are not bringing in any capital into the business. Short term /Long term Bank loans: This is another mostly used source for financing of capital for the business. The partnership can take a loan as per the requirement of the business that is it can be short term as well as long term in nature. This source of financing can be used by the business at initial stages of the business and also in the pursuance of the long-term business objectives of the firm (Shin 2012). The financing which is done through bank loans can meet both the objectives which can be start up financing as well as long-term financing of the business. Additional Partner’s Capital: In many situation, there has been cases where the firm is requiring additional capital and the firm does not want to take a loan from banks then they use this technique. Whenever there is an admission of a new partner in the partnership firm, the individual brings in his share of capital for the purpose of investing in the firm and also determining the profit ratio which he is going to get. The additional capital which is brought by the new partners is used for financing purpose of projects and operation of the business. This type of financing is rarely used by firms as admission of a new partner means that the profit sharing ratio diminishes. However, it is commonly seen that a partnership business applies such techniques when a partner retires from a business so as to meet the capital requirements of the business. In case of a company form of business the most common sources of financing for a business are discussed below: Issue of Shares: The most important sources of financing for a business is through issue of shares which can be equity shares or preference share as per the requirement of the business. The company has the ability to issue shares in order to collect small amount of capital per share from potential investors (Engel and Stiebale 2014). The share capital as collected by the business is used in financing the projects of the company. Such sources of financing are useful in start up business as well as financing for the long-term business objectives. In addition to this, financing with share capital is a reliable source of financing for the business (Bobinaite and Tarvydas 2014). Bank Loan: This is another option which is available to the company which can be used for financing of the business. The company can take long- term as well as short term loans from banks for day to day operation of the business. However, lumpsum amount for loans as required by the company is not always available and the bank requires certain securities on the basis of which the bank will be allowing the loan to the company (Robb and Robinson 2014). In the startup phases of the business, company generally do not get any loan from the banks unless they provide ample amount of securities against the loan amount. Debentures: Another source of financing of the business is by issuing debentures for collecting capital. The capital which is collected with the issuance of debentures forms a part of the debt capital of the business. The capital which is collect by the use of debentures can also be used to finance projects and it can issued for collecting funds for start-up cost and also for long-term financial requirements of the business (Buigut et al. 2013). Retained Earnings. The company form of business also employs the concept of retained earnings. The company retains a part of the profit which is earned by the company during previous year and the business reinvest the profits in the business again (Serrasqueiro and Nunes 2012). The retain earnings method which is used by the business is known as plough back of profits in the business. Moreover, such method is advantageous to the company as it increases the internal strength of the company and makes the company financially strong. The retained earnings of the business depend on the amount of profit which was earned by the business in previous year. Moreover, the business cannot use such type of capital in start up financing of the business and has to resort to other means of sourcing of finance. Preference Share Source of Financing This refers to the funds which are raised by the business by issuing shares which are also known as equity (Elsas,   Flannery and Garfinkel 2014). Tis refers to the capital which is taken from a bank or financial institution This type of capital is similarly raised as equity sources of capital but such shares have rights of their own and are different from equity sources of capital (Gitman, Juchau and Flanagan 2015). This is regarded as own capital of the business This is regarded as borrowed capital of the business or also known as loan capital of the business. This also forms a part of the own capital of the business (Abdulsaleh and Worthington 2013). The risks which are associated with equity shares is high as equity shares are generally risky in nature (Bekaert and Harvey 2017). The risks which is associated with debts are low and debt capital are considered less risker than equity sources of capital. This type of shares are not as risky as equity shares but has certain risk factor. The return which is generated by equity share capital is in the form of dividends and such dividends depends on the profit which is earned by the company and also on the decision of the management. If the company is not earning profits than the company will not be paying any dividend. The return which is related to debt capital is interest which is fixed and regular in nature and generally depends on the agreement of debts of the business The return which is generated by such sources are fixed unlike equity sources of capital and they are need to be paid even if the company is earning losses. Thus, from the comparison of the above three sources of capital it can be said that the equity source of capital is very useful even though it is a risky source of capital. The consultancy business will be able to collect bulk amount of capital from equity sources and also there is no pressure of dividends in initial years even if the business earns losses. Abdulsaleh, A.M. and Worthington, A.C., 2013. Small and medium-sized enterprises financing: A review of literature.  International Journal of Business and Management ,  8(14), p.36. Ahrendsen, B.L. and Katchova, A.L., 2012. Financial ratio analysis using ARMS data.  Agricultural Finance Review,  72(2), pp.262-272. Al Karim, R. and Alam, T., 2013. An evaluation of financial performance of private commercial banks in Bangladesh: Ratio analysis.  Journal of Business Studies Quarterly,  5(2), p.65. Allen, W.T. and Kraakman, R., 2016.  Commentaries and cases on the law of business organization. Wolters Kluwer law & business. Babalola, Y.A. and Abiola, F.R., 2013. Financial ratio analysis of firms: A tool for decision making.  International journal of management sciences ,  1(4), pp.132-137. Bekaert, G. and Harvey, C., 2017. Emerging equity markets in a globalizing world. Bobinaite, V. and Tarvydas, D., 2014. Financing instruments and channels for the increasing production and consumption of renewable energy: Lithuanian case.  Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,  38, pp.259-276. Brigham, E.F. and Houston, J.F., 2012.  Fundamentals of financial management . Cengage Learning. Buigut, K., Soi, N., Koskei, I. and Kibet, J., 2013. The effect of capital structure on share price on listed firms in Kenya. A case of energy listed firms.  European Journal of Business and Management ,  5(9), pp.29-35. Burns, P., 2016.  Entrepreneurship and small business. Palgrave Macmillan Limited. Delen, D., Kuzey, C. and Uyar, A., 2013. Measuring firm performance using financial ratios: A decision tree approach.  Expert Systems with Applications,  40(10), pp.3970-3983. Ehiedu, V.C., 2014. The impact of liquidity on profitability of some selected companies: The financial statement analysis (FSA) approach.  Research Journal of Finance and Accounting,  5(5), pp.81-90. Elsas, R., Flannery, M.J. and Garfinkel, J.A., 2014. Financing major investments: information about capital structure decisions.  Review of Finance,  18(4), pp.1341-1386. Engel, D. and Stiebale, J., 2014. Private equity, investment and financial constraints: firm-level evidence for France and the United Kingdom.  Small Business Economics,  43(1), pp.197-212. Fairfield, T. and Jorratt De Luis, M., 2016. Top income shares, business profits, and effective tax rates in contemporary Chile.  Review of Income and Wealth,  62(S1). Gbandi, E.C. and Amissah, G., 2014. Financing options for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.  European Scientific Journal, ESJ,  10(1). Gitman, L.J., Juchau, R. and Flanagan, J., 2015.  Principles of managerial finance. Pearson Higher Education AU. Higgins, R.C., 2012.  Analysis for financial management. McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Lee, N., Sameen, H. and Cowling, M., 2015. Access to finance for innovative SMEs since the financial crisis.  Research policy,  44(2), pp.370-380. Robb, A.M. and Robinson, D.T., 2014. The capital structure decisions of new firms.  The Review of Financial Studies,  27(1), pp.153-179. Serrasqueiro, Z. and Nunes, P.M., 2012. Is age a determinant of SMEs' financing decisions? Empirical evidence using panel data models.  Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice,  36(4), pp.627-654. Shin, H.S., 2012. Global banking glut and loan risk premium.  IMF Economic Review,  60(2), pp.155-192.   Tehrani, R., Mehragan, M.R. and Golkani, M.R., 2012. A Model for Evaluating Financial Performance of Companies by Data Envelopment Analysis-A Case Study of 36 Corporations Affiliated with a Private Organization.  International Business Research,  5(8), p.8. Tugas, F.C., 2012. A Comparative Analysis of the Financial Ratios of Listed Firms Belonging to the Education Subsector in the Philippines for the Years 2009-2011.  International Journal of Business and Social Science,  3(21). Zeitun, R. and Tian, G., 2014. Capital structure and corporate performance: evidence from Jordan.

Symbolism and Polarization in Death in Venice by Thomas Mann Essay

Symbolism and Polarization in Death in Venice by Thomas Mann - Essay Example It is known as one of the richest novels in terms of symbolism; it is hard to deny this is a masterpiece which will never be written again. The author has also described phases of old age, obsession and solemnity, which profoundly represent the wealth and class of the main character and how he rejects his own self because of his respectable and wealthy status. The main character of Gustav von Aschenbach is a prototype of a fussy, aged German writer who is a highly disciplined, respectable and dignified man. He is a complicated and complex person. He is a wealthy and honourable man in the society and is well known in his profession. He sets out to travel to Venice after his experience in the city’s famed English gardens. He experiences terror and horror when he encounters a ghostly appearing figure. He wishes to go to Venice, which is known as the city of beauty and romance, but surprisingly enough becomes a creepy and sinister place for the protagonist (Mann 35). The depiction of Venice is itself a representation of class and culture in the novel, which also relates to the Mann’s class of being an educational writer visiting countries for his personal satisfaction. The novel represents the class and wealth in many ways. The way the writer has created a great piece of literature with the discussion and explanation of some amazing scenes and expressions in the novel has made it one of the best novels of its time. There are many authors and professionals who have considered this book as a representation of their work. This novel would give many aspects to the reader to think about, starting with its extreme sustainability in the character’s personality to the representation of wealth, class and society. His fame and wealth lead him to live a life respectable and dignified until he falls into the biggest trap of his life. He fights with himself and just because of his respect he lets go on some of his own desires. He knew that as his respect fa lls in people’s eyes, his status and wealth will both go away from him and it will ruin all his life, and with it he could not afford to play. Many other great literature works were published during that time period; some managed to show the essence of age, for example, Heart of Darkness. The story was representing the ages of man and the art in their life, but it did not solely relate to the artistic purpose; in fact it represented the age, the wealth, the fame that came with age, and the life from three different points of view. Notes from Underground is another publication of that time which showed the culture and the revolution. It was a great piece of literature and was subjected to classicism just like the Death in Venice was written representing the classism of the culture and symbolism. It also included the elements of obsession, passion, art and a full retreat of the society (O’ Hehir 11). Though many literature works were published during that time, the maste rpieces were those which represented wealth, class and culture. Thomas Mann and other writers wrote much about the class of great artists and gave their novels a very artistic approach to enable them to relate to the society in which there was fame, money and class. These books were usually written in fiction, and portrayed a great message for the readers to learn and open their minds. The work of Thomas Mann related very closely to his own life. His novel and his main character described what

Corporate and global strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Corporate and global strategy - Essay Example Finally the study tried to some useful recommendation in terms of research & development and value chain cost for the company. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 1.0 Procter & Gamble 5 2.0 Corporate Strategy 6 2.1 Core Competency of P&G 7 2.2 Overall Scope 8 3.0 Business Level Strategy 8 4.0 Internal Analysis 10 4.1 Porter’s Value Chain 10 4.2 Barney’s VRIN model 13 5.0 External Analysis 16 5.1 PESTLE 16 5.1.1 Political Environment 16 5.1.2 Economic 16 5.1.3 Social Environment 16 5.1.4 Technological 16 5.1.5 Environment 17 5.1.6 Laws and Regulations 17 5.2 Porter’s Five Forces 17 5.2.1 Threat of New Entrants 17 5.2.2 Buyer Power 18 5.2.3 Supplier Power 18 5.2.4 Competition 18 5.2.5 Threat of Substitutes 18 6.0 Evaluation of Strategy 19 7.0 Conclusion 20 7.1 Internationalization of P&G 20 7.2 History of Global Expansion of P&G 21 References 22 1.0 Procter & Gamble Proctor & Gamble is a famous American consumer product company. The organization is headquartered at Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. The company was founded by William Procter and James Gamble in the year 1837. The company operates over ninety five countries internationally. Sales volume of the company has crossed a record mark of $82, 00 billion in the year 2011. The organization has established product leadership in various categories such as Skin Care, House Care and Oral care. More than 125,000 employees work in the Procter & Gamble. The consumer product company sells more than two hundred and sixty brands across the globe. The organization enjoys leadership in more than twenty four brands globally and able to obtain billion of dollars per annum from each of the product category. The consumer product organization has established more than twenty eight technical centres internationally (PG-Global, 2012). Proctor & Gamble emphasizes on adopting modern technology integrated with state of art research and development facility in order to achieve competitive advantage over competitors. Th ey have incorporated market research intelligence process in order to take strategic decision to expand business in foreign market (Kotler, 2009, p. 253). The company has expanded their business extensively in last twenty years and achieved phenomenal sales growth from their international business operation hence analyzing their business and corporate level strategy will help management practitioners to understand key ingredients required to develop a sustainable strategic model. Strategic analysis of Procter & Gamble will not only help management practitioners to gain insight about strategic choices but to gain knowledge about global business practices. These study will do strategic analysis of Procter & Gamble in the below mentioned manner. Step 1- Analyzing corporate strategy of P&G, Step 2- Analyzing business strategy of P&G and Step 3- Internal and External environment analysis. 2.0 Corporate Strategy The Cincinnati based company has realized the significance of globalization t o survive in the hyper competitive market and adopted themselves (read Clay Street Think Tank) according to the prerequisite of situation (Weiner, 2006, p. 22). The organization has shifted focus from delivering products to American consumers and established SBU or strategic business units internationally. Procter & Gamble has increased level of plant capacity with the intention of achieving economies of scale and deliver product mix in cost effective manner (Lofgren, 2005, pp. 102-115).

Apple Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 8

Apple - Essay Example Under the leadership of Steve Jobs, Apple underwent a period of tremendous innovation that led to the launch of category-defining products for example the iPod, iPad and iPhone. Apple also launched ITunes online store, Apple retail store to complement the electronics. Apple rides on its strengths to acquire and maintain a competitive advantage in a fast growing market that is extremely competitive.2 On the other hand, the increased competition can have ripple effects on the growth and success of the company. Apple has gained a strong market position due to the ‘Apple Eco-system’. The company has a wide range of applications, software and such interrelated products that support each other. The newly released products especially the iTV keep expanding Apple’s eco-system. The company therefore continues to enjoy customers’ trust therefore enjoys a competitive advantage over its competition. Brand awareness is also increased by the high quality customer experience at the Apple retail stores since the staff is always well informed with direct contact with the customers. The stores enjoy maximum profits from direct sales. Apple also has a strong marketing strategy. It employs a strong team of marketers and advertisers who ensure that pricier products are sold and build superior stores that are meant to achieve marketing goals while advertising the products in a compelling way. This advertising trend was started in 1984 when Apple produced a commercial that became famous for a long time which was broadcast during the Super bowl that year.3 Apple unlike Microsoft creates its own hardware and as such, it does not have to depend on other companies to create products that run on its operating system. Apple offers a variety of products that make profits. It is diversified and does not rely on one sole product to make sales unlike Google which majorly relies upon advertising to