Thursday, August 22, 2019

The Polite Principle and its application in education

If you order your research paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on The Polite Principle and its application in education. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality The Polite Principle and its application in education paper right on time.


Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in The Polite Principle and its application in education, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your The Polite Principle and its application in education paper at affordable prices!


Abstract



According to Grice's theory, people follow the Cooperative Principle in conversation. But actually because of the politeness£¬we communicate usually more than we say explicitly. In this paper, through the introduction of the Cooperative Principle and its violation, this paper further discusses the Polite Principle and its application in conversation, and introduces how to adhere to the Polite Principle to save face for each other and develop the conversation. What's more important, this paper further discusses the importance of the Polite Principle and poses the methods of obeying the Polite Principle in education. The investigation of this aspect has its profound value in contemporary education.


Key words the Cooperative Principle, the Polite Principle, the face-saving theory, education


The Polite Principle and Its Application in Education


Order College Papers on The Polite Principle and its application in education


Introduction


Traditionally, teachers and school administrators make decisions and rules, and then impose them on students. But contemporary education requires the new relationship between teachers and students. In this new type of relation, teachers and students enjoy the equal status. The responsibility of teachers is to build the bridge that leads the students to success. The students are both the object and the subject of education. They are also sociable and thinking, not just the 'products' of education. So in order to make the students be educated, they should first be respected. But in what way the students can be respected?


P.Grice's theory of Cooperative Principle claims that we should follow the principle to develop our conversations. But we can't notice that the speakers often violate them. Why? In their research, Brown and Levinson found that was because of politeness. In order to cooperative in our communication, people should follow the Polite Principle to save face for the others. For the cooperation of education, teachers should also be polite to give the respect to the students. That's to say, the Polite Principle also plays an important role in contemporary education.


Demonstration


A. The Cooperative Principle and its violation


P. Grice believes that there must be some mechanisms governing the production and comprehension of these utterances. He suggests that there is a set of assumptions guiding the conduct of convention. This is what he calls the Cooperative Principle. And in order to explain further the Cooperative Principle, he borrows from the German philosopher Immanuel Kant four categories quantity, quality, relation, and manner. That is, the Cooperative Principle is specified from these four aspects. And the content of each category is known as maxim the maxim of Quantity, the maxim of Quality, the maxim of Relevance and the maxim of Manner.


But in the process of language using, we usually come across some sentences that are used in actual situations and have some extra meaning. We can always see that speakers do not always follow these maxims; in fact they often violate them. But that is not the point. The important thing is that whether the speaker follows or violates these maxims, he produces some implicature---a kind of extra meaning that is not contained in the utterance. For example, according to the maxim of Quantity, if I say, 'the flag is white.' It has the implicature that 'the flag is only white; not red, blue and white', otherwise, I should have said so. Inferences also arise from the assumption that the maxim of Manner is being observed. For example, events are often told in the order of their occurrence. Thus ' Li hit Wang and Wang hit Li ' would be interpreted differently from 'Wang hit Li and Li hit Wang '. When any of the maxims is blatantly violated that the hearer knows that it is being violated, the conversational implicatures arise. For instance, 'is this your pen?' which appears to be a question about the ownership of a pen, may be used as a request to mean 'may I use your pen?' or as a reminder meaning ' you've left behind your pen', or as an order meaning 'pick it up'. How can this be possible? Why the speaker violate the Cooperative Principle to express in an indirect and implicit way. What is their purpose to do so?


B. Polite Principle and FST


Though we can't say that the violation of the Cooperative Principle and the production of the conversational implicature are all because of the demand of the politeness. In many cases, it is really the consideration of politeness that causes the speaker to do so. Leech (1880) has given the following examples


E.g.1 A We'll miss Bill and Agatha, won't we?


B Well, we'll all miss Bill.


E.g. Parent Someone's eaten the icing off the cake.


Child It wasn't me.


In Example 1, obviously B violated the maxim of Quantity, A used the tag question to aim to get B's agreement or disagreement about his opinion, 'we'll miss Bill and Agatha.' But B's reply just confirmed A's opinion partly, 'well, we'll all miss Bill.' This was not because that B was short of information. He can completely add the sentence 'but not Agatha' and made the information that he offered, more complete. But he didn't do so. Instead, he intentionally made A feel that there was something he had hold back. The blatant violation of the maxim of Quantity can be only explained that it is because of politeness. B doesn't want to displease someone overtly.


Example is typically the dialogue between the parent and the child. In fact, the parent knew clearly who has eaten the icing. But he didn't blame the child directly and employed an indefinite pronoun 'someone', only to refer that someone has eaten the icing. So he violated the maxim of Quantity and made his expression be polite.


Politeness is a sociocultural phenomenon, roughly to be defined as showing, or appearing to show, consideration of others. Politeness can thus be seen as one of the basic social guidelines for human interaction. The goal of politeness can then be described as reflecting or realizing the social or interpersonal function of language with politeness being 'a system of interpersonal relations designed to facilitate interaction by minimizing the potential for conflict and confrontation inherent in all human interchange. Just like the above two examples, the speaker express himself in a tactful or an indirect way instead of using the impolite words to the listener.


For many researchers, politeness is a feature of language in use. Thus Brown and Levinson (187) and Leech (18) stressed the importance of politeness as a contextualised phenomenon. Further, it is generally accepted that politeness is a pervasive feature in human communication.


Based on Brown and Levinson's Polite Principle, influenced by Grice's Cooperative Principle, Leech has anew concluded and classified the Polite Principle. It can be classified into the following maxims Tact Maxim, Generosity Maxim, Approbation Maxim, Modest Maxim, Agreement Maxim, Sympathy Maxim.


In conversation, the Cooperative Principle adjusts the content of the utterance and makes the conversation goes on. And the Polite Principle has more effect of adjusting the utterance. It can defend the equivalent status and the friendly relationship of the speaker and the listener. Only under this premise, people can communicate with each other. If there is no politeness, it is impossible to make an effective communication. In order to stick to the Polite Principle, people even can sacrifice the maxim of the Cooperative Principle. Give an example, people sometimes tell lies to refuse the invitation. Though everyone knows the lie, it is more polite to tell lie than to refuse the invitation directly. As a 'real-world goal', politeness can be interpreted as the genuine desire to be 'nice' to others.


In their research, Brown and Levinson have found that in order to be polite, people avoid being frank and plain. In order to be polite, people say something but imply some other meaning. So they put forward the face-saving theory (FST).


In many language societies, when people put forward a formal request, he will use some formal words (e.g. use the indirect speech act to regret for his disturbance). When someone is not sure if it is appropriate to make a request, he may express himself in a more tactful way, to give the request by the conversational implicature. (E.g. at the table, someone says, 'it'll be nicer if it's a bit more salty.' The implicature meaning is to request the nearer to pass the salt for him.) In the above situations, the speaker do so to' save face' for himself and the audience.


To save face, we must employ the polite words. Only to save face, we can maintain the nice social relation, and communicate in a friendly atmosphere. And at last, realize the purpose of communication.


Brown and Levinson based their face-saving theory both on Grice's maxim theory and on Goffman's concept of 'face' as 'the positive social value a person effectively claims for himself by the line others assume he has taken during a particular contact '(Goffman, 1675). Face can be likened to a person's public self-esteem or self-image, which can be damaged, maintained or enhanced in interaction with others. Brown and Levinson extend Goffman's notion of face dividing face into positive face, which is similar to Goffman's face and negative face according to interactants' wants. A person's positive face is reflected in his desire for freedom of action and freedom from imposition. Deviations from Gricean maxims and motivated by employing strategies to counteract so-called 'face-threatening acts' (FTAs). By using these 'politeness strategies', speakers communicate both their primary message and also the message that they intend to be polite, which have the status of Gricean conversational implicature.


C. How to adhere to the Polite Principle


But how to be 'nice' to others, how to save face in our communication, that is, how to apply the Polite Principle in the conversation? Nearly every speech act constitutes in a specific way a threat to the Polite Principle, to the face of either of the two interactants. Certain linguistic strategies must be chosen from an elaborate repertoire of positive and negative politeness in order to provide redressive action. Certain linguistic strategies are employed


1. Positive politeness.


a. To show agreement.


E.g. That's a good idea. Why it never occurred to me?


The speaker shows appreciation to the listener's idea.


E.g. I quite agree with you that we cannot have it both ways.


The speaker shows agreement to the listener's idea.


b. To show the mutual cooperation.


E.g. You're right in saying so. I'll think it over and let you know my decision.


The speaker shows the understanding of the listener's idea and indicates that he will think about it.


E.g. I won't do it if you don't.


The speaker shows the flexibility. If the listener doesn't expect this event, the speaker will not do so.


c. To help the listener's desire to realized.


E.g. I sympathize with you and I'll do my best to help you.


The speaker shows the sympathy to the listener and makes the promise.


. Negative politeness


E.g. Never mind. I know that Robinson is a good friend of yours. I'll let David tell him about our decision.


The speaker doesn't force the listener, because he knows that the listener may be not willing to do this.


E.g. I'm sorry I didn't come to upset you. But that's a fact.


The speaker apologizes to show that he is unwilling to hurt the listener.


E.g. Under this circumstance, it seems best for one to let his colleagues know before any actions taken.


In fact the speaker is criticizing the listener, but he doesn't use the pronoun 'you', instead, he tries his best not to hurt the listener and save his face.


E.g. Let me help you with your suitcase. I'm going upstairs anyway.


The speaker wants to do the listener a favor. In order to make the listener feel at ease, he shows that he just help him by the way.


. To be covert. This strategy is mainly realized by the indirect utilization of FTA. i.e. realized by the violation of Grice's Cooperative Principle.


a. Violate the maxim of Relevance.


E.g. ----How do you think of my paintings?


----I don't have an eye for beauty, I'm afraid.


The speaker seems to give an irrelevant answer, but his implied meaning is that he doesn't like the paintings. This kind of speech act lessens the size of FTA.


b. Violate the maxim of Quantity.


E.g. A My husband doesn't stir a finger to help me with the housework.


B Women are women.


B's answer doesn't contain the necessary information and violates the maxim of Quantity. But his meaning is clear. That's to say the women are always garrulous to blame their husbands. This kind of speech act avoids the direct conflict.


b. Violate the maxim of Quality.


E.g. Teacher Where is Teheran?


Student In Egypt.


Teacher London is in U.S.A.


Obviously, what the teacher says is wrong. He violates the maxim of Quality. But the student immediately realizes that his answer is incorrect. The teacher doesn't directly point out the error, just to save face for the student.


d. Violate the maxim of Manner.


E.g. Miss X produced a series of sounds that corresponded closely with the score of 'Home Sweet Home'. This sentence means, 'Miss X sang ¡®Home Sweet Home''. The speaker expresses this meaning in so many words. He violates the maxim of Manner; only want to save face for Miss X, and to express this meaning by conversational implicature.


D. The application of Polite Principle in education


Politeness is a feature of language in use. It pervades every aspect of our life. In teaching, as a teacher, in order to realize our purpose of education. Teachers need to establish a warm, caring, and supportive environment in which all the students are treated with care, respect, and compassion. They also must model acceptance and respect for the feelings of others. Teachers should avoid favoritism, sarcasm, or any other behavior that embarrasses or humiliates a student and save face for them.


1.The teacher should first find out why the students make mistakes and then give the education in the right way, not just criticize. It is the period of students' physical and mental growth in school. So the teacher should help the student maintain positive self-esteem and avoid sarcasm.


E.g. Class begins; a student rushes into the classroom out of breath.


Student Sorry, I'm late. Because¡­


Teacher (Be serious) Why you are so late? Don't you know you will make our class be criticized?


Student My bike's fall into broken in the half way. I ran to school.


Teacher You always have your reasons. Why don't you set out earlier? You must have slept over in the morning. Come to my office after class!


The student goes to his seat worriedly and can't focus his attention in the class. But if we change to another way, the same event will have a completely different result


Student Sorry, I'm late.


Teacher What's wrong? What has happened?


Student My bike's fall into broken in the half way. I ran to school.


Teacher I hope you will never be late again, ok? Go back to your seat as soon as possible. We'll begin our class at once.


The teacher gave both the sympathy and the requirement but no burden. This can let the student get into the state of study as soon as possible.


. Criticism is not the most important way in education. The teacher should mainly give praises. When the students are simply punished for disobedience, it does not promote the understanding that leads to higher levels of moral developments. Everyone makes mistakes. It is very common that the students make mistakes. Facing their mistakes, we should choose the right way to correct them.


E.g. There is a student who is very naughty. His study is the worst in the class. One day, the teacher found him copying some other's homework. But the teacher didn't criticize him as a typical 'bad boy'.


Teacher What are you doing?


Student (silence)


Teacher You write very carefully. In fact, yours is neater than that one.


Student Sorry, sir. I'm copying other's homework.


Teacher I'm glad that you can see your error. But if you do the homework by yourself, even if incorrectly, it is better than do nothing, yes? I hope you can let me know what you don't understand, so I can help you on time. OK?


So after class, this student said these words to the teacher, 'you haven't made me embarrassed. I know you don't hate me. I will try my best to make you satisfied.' In the following days, though the student is still naughty, he became to be warm-hearted to the classmates. So the teacher gave him a chance to be the monitor. The student himself even can't believe that the teacher would make such a 'bad boy' to be the monitor. So he became to try his best in study and working. This is how a 'bad boy' became an excellent student.


That's to say, teachers' praises and encourages are very important to the student. They first get the trust from the teacher, and then they get the self-confidence. Everyone has his merits and defeats. As a teacher, he should be good at discovering the students' merits and saving their faces. So we can help them to maintain a positive self-esteem.


. We'd better give the criticism in an indirect way. The following are the comments that the teacher gives to the 'bad' students.


E.g. In classes, you dare not put up your hands to answer the questions. When the teacher announces the result of the exam, you are so shame to want to go out. Why you always feel that you are inferior to others. I know you have difficulties in understanding the text and you don't know how to write a composition. But you can ask the teacher and your classmates. No pains, no gains. If you are more earnest in your study, you also can get high marks in the examination. The most important thing is that you can't look down upon yourself.


E.g. I know you want to make a progress, to be an excellent student, to make your parents happy. And you look forward to getting the teacher's praise and appreciation. But you are lazy and short of perseverance. You need more actions instead of words. Hurry up. Everyone hopes you make a progress.


So this kind of comment is tactful but concrete, explicit and sentimental. It can make a more close relationship between the teacher and the student.



Conclusion



In the above example and analysis, we can conclude that the polite principle is applicable in teaching. In the process of education, the Polite Principle should presuppose by the esteem to the student, based on different situation and then put to use. The above strategies can make our education more effective. So learning how to use the Polite Principle and utilizing it in education ought to become a basic skill of an educator. It has a perspective future in contemporary education.


Please note that this sample paper on The Polite Principle and its application in education is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on The Polite Principle and its application in education, we are here to assist you. Your persuasive essay on The Polite Principle and its application in education will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.


Order your authentic assignment and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!


Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Youth Culture and Sub Culture

If you order your research paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on Youth Culture and Sub Culture. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality Youth Culture and Sub Culture paper right on time.


Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in Youth Culture and Sub Culture, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your Youth Culture and Sub Culture paper at affordable prices!


Culture and Sub-Culture


For this assignment, I shall explore some factors that influence the development of culture, and sub-culture, reflecting on consumer products, and how they help to develop identity. In particular, my study will focus on music, media, and fashion, in relation to young people. As Williams, Hall, and Jefferson (177) suggest, in this context culture refers to …'distinct patterns of life, and the ways in which social groups give expression to their social and material life experiences'. (Cited in Wyn, J. White, R. 17pg7) Subculture highlights diversity, such as individual group cultures, …'sub-cultures give young people the chance to express their difference from the rest of society, yet coexist within it'. (Brake,180 cited in Roche,J.Tucker,S.17pg14)


Consumer products alone do not make identity, but do attribute to the formation of it, with today's teen consumer market is the most lucrative it has ever been. Marketers historically have recognised this, and therefore, use certain elements of youth culture to promote products. The media influence on the development of youth cultures and sub-cultures is also instrumental, with young people facing a barrage of messages explaining what it means to be young. How we consume determines who we become, our value base, and how we interact with people in the broader context of the world.


Youth culture has changed over the generations, for parents of teens, the gap seems to be ever widening. Young people have faced similar challenges to each other, but each generation is unique, and experience situations that shape their attitudes and behaviours. However, when entering into any particular culture, although influences exist, it is still usually a conscious choice. A useful way to examine influences, on young people over time, is that of Strauss and Howe in their book the fourth turning. Each generation are labelled, to offer the reader an understanding.


Custom writing service can write essays on Youth Culture and Sub Culture


According to Strauss and Howe, the silent …'generation grew up with the harsh realities of war and a depressed economy'. (www.health.org) This group of young people where at a crossroads, too young to be hero's of the war, and yet too old to be young free adolescents, they paved the way towards civil rights, and the rock and roll era.


The next generation were to be known as the baby boomers, growing up with idyllic views of life, accepting the notion of …'father knows best' (www.health.org)


They engaged in a culture of free loving, urban riots and unrest, and as this generation were to mature, idealism allowed the introduction of materialism; hence the word 'yuppie' (www.health.org) arrived.


Generation X was born into an era of high divorce rates, and an increasing rise in the number of single parent families. These young people entered the labour market, when jobs were scarce, and youth crime and disorder soared, the aids epidemic was rampant. 'Their outside status helped spawn the angst-filled grunge movement and they also fuelled the hip-hop explosion'. (www.health.org)


The next generation Y/Millennials, were born into both good and bad influences at the same time. At the top of the national agenda is child welfare, although negative school violence and drugs is at the forefront. Computerisation and technology is ever increasing, and equipment is predominately digital.


The Y generation, is a representation of today's teens where surfing the internet is the norm, and emailing is as common as using the telephone. This era is much more multicultural than it was when their parents were growing up, and images containing sex and violence are common themes that surround them on a daily basis. To an extent …'the Vietnam war and the assassinations of John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Malcolm x, Medgar Evers, and Dr. Martin Luthur king, Jr, are ancient history'. (www.health.org)


The speed at which cultural objects and ideas are transmitted globally today, are significant factors in the number of youth subculture groups that are identified. A major change with regards to counter cultural groups today, is the large number of them around. For example, in the sixties it was common to be classed as a mod or a rocker, you tended to be on or the other. Today youth can align with many other groups, because there is such diversity. The mass media has a large role to play in encouraging the formation of sub-cultural groups, by helping young people to see and identify which role models represent what groups.


Perhaps more fundamentally, youth culture has become more accepting and accommodating of various different groupings within the community. There are groups on the fringe of society who may be counter cultural in orientation, like punks, goths etc.. by large there now seems to be a strong sense of tolerance for difference, and a felling that diversity may even be positive.


Media targeting of young people is all too common, with the hunt for consumer money on. Advertisers view teens in particular, as uniquely profitable, they buy themselves, influence parents to buy, and indeed will be future adult consumers. Consumer advertising through the media is highly influential on young people, especially when they use popularity by association Product advertised by famous people. Although, adolescents I work with are sometimes quite cynical to this approach, seeing it as someone who gets paid for a job, without actually believing in the product.


Media advertising uses signifiers to appeal to different groups, …'visual and verbal elements are combined to produce particular meanings and effects'. (www.english.unitecnonloy) If we look at an advertisement for the chocolate bar bounty, the light blue packaging denotes the product as food. Related visual images of a sunny desert island, gives connotations of youth, freedom, and happiness. The music can be powerful in giving the feeling of energy, and pleasure. This example is to illustrate how powerful semiotics and the use of signs in the media can be.


Media uses semiotics in portraying fashion and beauty items, and has done over time. Clothes are an important indication of social interaction, and media images even in the sixties helped to determine what groups young people engaged in,.'clothing fashion both sprang from and had influence on the various youth culture groups of the time which diverged and evolved as the decade progressed'. (www.sixtiescity.com) The "teddy boys" dressed in Edwardian style clothing, Hell's angels wore leather, which was symbolic of their brotherliness and motorcycling ventures. This code of dress although sub-cultural, was mainly to facilitate their mode of transport as opposed to a fashion statement. This dress sense may have been influenced by films of the time such as the wild ones.


Mersey sound in 16, eminently the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, and later the Who, led to a huge rise in the different cultural groups. One such group were the modernists (mods), who followed jazz music, cultural habits of this group revolved around dancing, fashion, and music.


Mods were to popularise the usage of drugs, this was how they preserved energy to attend the all night ..'dance-till-you-drop lifestyle'. (www.sixtiecity.com) They began to take drynamil, which although originally prescribed for those with anxiety, had an amphetamine like effect, commonly know as purple hearts. Other drugs began to circulate like French blues, dexedrine, and strong black bombers.


Following mods came a brief culture of regency, their look included buttons, bows, frills, and velvet, typical of some major pop groups like the Kinks, and the photographer Patrick Litchfield. Surviving only a short time, this trend was taken over by the huge hippie flower power culture, hippies epitomised individualism, and made their own preferences very much apparent.


Hippies motto make love not war, gave them a key to their own specific culture, pro-drugs and doing their own thing was what they were about. They dressed in kaftans, afghan style coats, had body painting, flowers in their hair, and would often be seen wearing lots of beads. Their indulgence in the LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) scene is possibly where the feeling of freedom and youthfulness derived from.


'In many different parts of the world popular music is a primary, if not the primary, leisure resource for young people'. (Bennett,A.000pg4) Pop art was a movement attempting to withdraw popular and high culture boundaries, it was …'a reaction to the seriousness given to abstract impressionalism'. (www.sixtiescity.com) Pop art was a simplistic style, with a focus on exaggerated colour. An example of this is …'Warhol's silk-screen paintings that made use of monotony and repetition such as the images of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis'. (www.sixtiescity.com) Certainly some of the more famous pictures of this time included daily objects like coca-cola bottles. Pop music is still seen in today's society, as a significant piece of youth culture, which can be …'traced back to the advent of rock 'n' roll in the early 150's'. (Bennett,A.000pg4)


Dance music to an extent has become known, as a separate culture in it's own right club culture, signifiers are hairstyles, clothing and attitudes. Subcultures can be defined as being subordinate to the dominant culture, and club culture fits this category. Dance music embraces a variety of different cultures, class, and lifestyles. Fundamentally its venue is a club where people socially interact, and dance to electronically engineered music.


The people who attend any particular session, will vary depending on where it is held, how it is publicised and the price it will be. For example, In London a rave commonly known as the jungle scene is predominantly black-led, attracting a diversity of young people, mainly from urban settings. Conversely the venue cream in Liverpool uses the local radio station to publicise the event. Tickets are sold at a price of approximately £5.00, and attendance is usually by middle class, white sections of society. One young person commented on how 'nowadays there aren't many free parties about 'cos things get busted up more 'cos of the criminal justice act'. (Garratt,D.Roche,J.Stanley,T.17pg)


Cultural theorist, such as Hall and Hebdige are concerned with dance music as a sub culture, and how they believe it can lead to young people being corrupt and turning against what society view as ….'established order'. (www.studentcentral.co.uk) They believe this happens as a result of alternative dress code and rituals. To an extent I disagree with their theory with regards to dance music in particular, as I don't believe dance music has an identifiable code of dress at present, and people who participate in my experience, do not consciously set themselves apart from the wider culture.


My conclusion is that 'There are no barriers within dance', (Rietveld,H. Cited in www.studentcentral.co.uk) the music does not discriminate against people on the ground of ethnicity, class or sexuality. Dance music encompasses both underground and mainstream facets of society; in it's multicultural approach. Starting in the United States of America in the late seventies as a underground subculture, it has developed to the mainstream of the mid 10's, beginning to create it's own unique culture in the twenty first century.


Drugs were a cultural part of different sub-cultural movements, as far back as the sixties, and even today the way we behave in different groups, and associate as individuals is very time, place and culturally specific. Media gained great exposure in the topic of drugs, and still does. Young people and adults alike were associating songs with drug experiences, such as Yellow Submarine by the Beatles, Strawberry Fields, and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Today songs still celebrate the psychedelic experience of drug use, for example, I want to be a Hippie and I want to get Stoned. Young people, as a form of individualistic identity, could interpret this as it was in the hippie era. It is an example of the younger generation wanting to express their own views, rather than succumbing to the values and rules left behind from the older generation.


Through the different youth cultures and sub-cultures, we can see how influential attitudes and behaviours can be. For example, Madonna was in the charts singing with her bra in full view, as a result impressionable teenagers were to begin wearing undergarments outside their clothes.


Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger, used youth culture as a publicity stunt for his own personal gain. He gave free clothes to influential youth trendsetters, like the rappers of the early nineties, enabling him to further market his brand. Hilfiger already having the attention of many young people learnt about the computer games world and so decided to sponsor Nintendo. Putting computer systems in his many stores, his jeans were soon to be rated number one by young people in America.


Fashion is a huge influencer of youth culture, especially in relation to young women, where all around are representations of ..'what it means to be young and female'. (Mc Robbie,A.000pg18) The daily tabloids, such as the mirror constantly use imagery of petit young females, often using famous people modelling the items. Young people are influenced by these trends, and either purchase the clothing themselves, or rely on their parents goodwill.


As young people experience their adolescent years, they may be faced by peer pressure, both positive and negative. At this age, involvement with peers increases, and can offer a sense of physical, emotional, and social comfort. Being part of a peer group can be a source of acceptance, affection, and a place for experimentation. Young people begin to understand their identity and learn about their autonomy, with some peer groups encouraging drug use and anti-social behaviour. Others discourage deviant behaviour, by favouring school activities such as sport, and extra curriculum activities.


Peer pressure can by a huge influence, in the development of culture amongst young people, as often they have their own set of rules and norms. For example, to be part of some peer cultures means conforming to certain unwritten rules such as dress code, my own experience was to have Nike trainers was to be accepted. Being accepted into a group, through the necessity to consume a certain product, can have a direct effect on your parents. For those who could not afford to buy into the culture, catalogues and getting into debt was the answer. Of course you could argue that parents choose to buy or not to buy, and most bought from fear of their child being bullied, and so 'If the negative effect of peer pressure is to be minimised, youth, parent, school and community leaders must come together to establish workable and effective strategies to guide teenage behaviour and to support their transition from children to mature, responsible adults'. (www.ianrun.unl)


In our everyday life, we here adults and parents complain of how young people and themselves lack the same experiences, complaining about the generation gap between them. Through the media and from a political point, young people are viewed as irresponsible, materialistic and so on. Adults tend to speak of young people in a way that represents them, as being venerable, and easily mislead, often not intellectually developed. These assumptions form the basis for exclusion of young people in policies, such as the age of drinking, driving a car, watching certain movies and reading certain books.


Some adults see young people as immature, and say everything has been handed to them on a plate. The common theme is that young people today did not experience hardships their parents had to, or the reality of the labour market. The new generation, are seen as ungrateful to their elders who worked hard to reach this level of wealth.


These kind of comments were said about youth in the 50's, right through to the present day, and will continue to be said about the following generation. Government policies will affect youth culture, to the extent that young people choices will be limited. For example the banning of various song lyrics like the rapper Eminem, takes away the right to choose which materials to buy.


For young people to be regarded as citizens in their own right, it is indispensable that they are involved in the making of policies affecting them. Citizenship teaching in schools is a relatively new initiative, enabling young people to engage with issues affecting them. Learning how to become active citizens, through the development of skills, enabling them to challenge government officials, will be instrumental in the process of young people be listened to and heard.


For citizenship to be productive and promote equality, it needs to be focused on not only the production of the ideal citizen, where people conform to government requests. It will undoubtedly affect youth culture, by educating people to think along the same lines. To an extent removing the element of choice, by stopping the natural developmental process.


Citizenship in many ways, is based on the very subject of consumerism, young people to an extent can consume, for example fashion. Although fundamentally, not being economically stable is a barrier to their being a fully-fledged citizen, of the consumer society surrounding them.


Theorists such as Thornton (17), (Miles,S.000pg) have emphasised how in studying young people, sociologists have tended to focus on culture and subculture negatively. Using young people as a key element of their study, they have ..'labelled and therefore framed, shaped and delineated social formations'. (Miles,S.000pg) This has resulted in difficulties when distinguishing between the dominant and less dominant cultures. Wyn and White (17), explain how when using age to distinguish between culture, it can lead to the portrayal of a …'masculine, white (and rebellious) middle-class experience of the norm'. (Wyn,J.White,R.17 cited in Miles,S.000pg4) The danger here is the eradication of important influences in young peoples lives such as institutions, political and economical circumstances.


To an extent, sociologists have misused the concept of youth and their sub cultures, focusing too much on theory. Used appropriately, the study of youth sub-cultures can help us all learn a great deal into the experiences that shape young peoples lives.


In conclusion, I believe that consumer capitalism through its marketing products, promotes the idea that young people can develop their own identity. Fundamentally important, is the need to recognise that young people of the twenty-first century are more likely to create their own lifestyles. This will undoubtedly be to a greater extent than their parents ever would, and consumption is a useful element in this process.


People are both producers and consumers of goods, and I argue that young people through their consumer habits choose goods, which reflect and express their identity and individualism. To consume certain marketing items such as a mobile phone, the latest fashion accessories or the most updated computer, is fast becoming the key to acceptance into certain cultural groups.


(Word Count ,077)


Please note that this sample paper on Youth Culture and Sub Culture is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Youth Culture and Sub Culture, we are here to assist you. Your persuasive essay on Youth Culture and Sub Culture will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.


Order your authentic assignment and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!


Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Discuss the reasons for Federation and the chief problems faced by those responsible for drafting the Australian constitution. Do the same problems face those wanting to introduce an Australian republic?'

If you order your custom term paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on Discuss the reasons for Federation and the chief problems faced by those responsible for drafting the Australian constitution. Do the same problems face those wanting to introduce an Australian republic?'. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality Discuss the reasons for Federation and the chief problems faced by those responsible for drafting the Australian constitution. Do the same problems face those wanting to introduce an Australian republic?' paper right on time.


Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in Discuss the reasons for Federation and the chief problems faced by those responsible for drafting the Australian constitution. Do the same problems face those wanting to introduce an Australian republic?', therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your Discuss the reasons for Federation and the chief problems faced by those responsible for drafting the Australian constitution. Do the same problems face those wanting to introduce an Australian republic?' paper at affordable prices!


Report Issue


Discuss the reasons for Federation and the chief problems faced by those responsible for drafting the Australian constitution. Do the same problems face those wanting to introduce an Australian republic?'


1 Preface


The Australian colonial struggle for a united federated nation is well documented. Predominantly the birth of Federation is termed as having its beginnings in the 180's. However, its origins date to 1846 when Lord Grey first proposed a central authority. However, the premise that Federation began taking shape when the first colonial fleet landed could be advanced. A mixture of ruling class elite, military, convicts and freemen were deposited on the shores of a vast continent, and were told to survive and develop a nation. As each problem presented itself, new methods were developed in response. For example, a shortage of labour meant convicts were treated as freemen, earning wages and given the right to purchase land, practices unheard in British law, but essential to colonial survival. This evolutionary process required modifications to laws, social structures and beliefs. Over time, Australian-based thoughts and actions developed and flourished survival making evolution essential. Independence and autonomy underpinned colonial actions leading to expectations of self-determination. This ultimately advanced to federation.


Help with essay on Discuss the reasons for Federation and the chief problems faced by those responsible for drafting the Australian constitution. Do the same problems face those wanting to introduce an Australian republic?'


Introduction


.1 Psychological Considerations


Any discussion attributing thoughts and perceptions, must necessarily address psychological factors which predetermine and unconsciously link thoughts and actions.


This essay does not pretend to address the many issues that prompted people to travel huge distances from their homeland to remain in uncharted colonies. Rather, it is read their motivations were affected and determined by the primary disciplines of sociology, anthropology, psychology and education. All are fundamental to human thoughts and actions, which ultimately influence historical interpretations to determine future outcomes.


Human behaviour and thought processes are learnt from infancy and develop daily. Generations pass ideologies to the next , building beliefs and opinions. Without conscious thought, individual perceptions are determined . The well-known saying 'Men are what their mothers made them' should in fact continue with '…and historical influences made their mothers'. Hence, historical factors must be considered when assessing the reasons for Federation, and any resultant effect these may have on an Australian republic.


. Historical Considerations


Historically, the first colonial governing institutions were ultimately viewed as uncaring ruling elites disinterested in the people they administered , and is suggested by many to be a prime motivation for Federation . Whilst valid, adherence to traditions, historical perceptions and the mental security of limited change, ensured our Founding Fathers could not mentally allow the destruction of all ties to the Imperial structure. All were educated under the British educational structure; all had their traditions and beliefs firmly centred in an English-based approach. Their historical backgrounds predetermined perceptions of justice, fairness, equity and requirements for this newly emerging nation. This does not imply all were identical men, rather, history had predetermined their perceptions of principles, resulting in an inability to accept a drastic amendment to the rule of law that existed in the 1850's to 100.


Preservation of history and tradition provides social cohesion, inherently endowing institutions with authority. The framework for Federation was steeped in history and tradition, including adoption of the Magna Carta , reliance upon a centuries-old Imperial structure and psychological factors. The ultimate Constitution, and the debates which formed it, were no exception. The prime cornerstones of the Constitution were rule of law, attempts at fairness and justice for the people it served and a fundamental belief the instrument protected citizens rights and obligations.


To appreciate the perceptions determining Federation, and obstacles which arose, an historical perspective must be addressed.


..1 Rule for the People or Rule for the Elite?


Western Australia was governed from afar during its infant years. General feelings of distrust, dislocation and of an uncaring distant Parliament were experienced. Mr. Walter Bagehot (1867) demonstrated this


'A Colonial Governor is a ruler who has no permanent interest in the colony he governs; who perhaps had to look for it in the map when he was sent thither, who takes years before he really understands its parties and its controversies; who, though without prejudice himself, is apt to be a slave to prejudices of the elite near him; who inevitably, and almost laudably governs not in the interest of the colony, which he may mistake, but in his own interest, which he sees and is sure of.'


British appointed Governors had supreme control and were drawn from the ranks of the British military and public service; personal connections being essential.


In this era, Imperial supreme control denied the requirements of colonial situations. All petitions were presented to the Governor who was at liberty to ignore them. Only the Governor could formally communicate with the British Parliament. Colonialists were given little encouragement for self-rule or self-determination, entrenching the perception of a disinterested ruling elite.


As the State developed, so did the cry for self-determination. This is epitomised in an 1888 election speech. The contest was between an immigrant Irishman, John Horgan, and a member of the ruling elite, Septimus Burt. Mr. Horgan stated


'the press has been teeming with instances of gross mismanagement on the part of the Governor - and I say the Governor because he is the Czar of Western Australia. He is the despot of Western Australia, and we are actually nauseated with the attacks of that man.'


Mr. Horgan's electoral win demonstrated colonial perceptions of dislocation and distrust; perceptions built and solidified over generations.


Importantly, this did not portray a rejection of the system per se, but rather a need for self-determination by people who understood colonial needs.


It is significant all colonies developed a system of government and justice based upon the foundations, and in some cases replication, of the Westminster systems, demonstrating an acceptance and requirement of these structures.


It is not surprising therefore, the Constitution Bills were predicated upon the rule of law and Imperial systems.



Federation



.1 The Inevitability of Federation


Australia had been settled for less than 100 years when the first serious, and public, calls for self-rule were heard under the guise of a 'central Federal authority' to manage the affairs of the unwieldy massive continent hampered by lack of communication and transport infrastructure and abilities. This call came at a time when Australia was young, undeveloped, State boundaries had not been set , Imperial law prevailed and no formal complete social or political structures had been set. Further, the initial proposal was developed by Britain's Colonial Secretary, not an Australian desirous of relinquishing ties with an Imperial command too far removed, as may have been expected.


Unfortunately, Earl Grey presented his 1846 proposal in its entirety without consultation with the very people it would affect, Australians. Rejection to the mode of presentation was immediate; ensuring the merits of the proposal itself had no chance of serious debate. Only one year later, the 'central authority' principle was commended to the New South Wales (NSW) Parliament. Rejection this time was led by the proposition of NSW dominance in any such scheme. Importantly, the concept itself was not rejected. Rather, discussions were held promulgating the concept of a Federal scheme. Suggestions came from both British authorities and Colonial Legislatures alike and Select Committees were formed to address the issue. The concept of 'Federation' had taken hold and would not be relinquished.


. The Reasons for Federation


Many and varied reasons have been advanced for the impetus of federation; ranging from defence and immigration matters, economic requirements of advancing interstate trade, inconsistent laws between colonies and general 'kinship'. However, to fully appreciate the extensive range of matters under discussion, it is important to read the words of one of the foremost federation advocates, Sir Henry Parkes when opening the first Australasian Federation Conference


'On the ultimate necessity of a federal union…the interest and honour of these growing states would be promoted by the establishment of a system of mutual action and co-operation among them. Their interest suffers…while competing tariffs, naturalisation laws, and land systems, rival schemes of immigration and of ocean postage, a clumsy and an inefficient method of communicating with each other and with the home Government on public business, and a distant and expensive system of judicial appeal exist…and the honour and importance which constitute so essential an element of national prosperity, and the absence of which invites aggression from foreign enemies, cannot perhaps, in this generation, belong to any single colony in this southern group, but may…be speedily attained by an Australian Federation by so doing it would…immensely economise their strength and resources. They would substitute a common national interest for local and conflicting interests, and waste no more time in barren rivalry. They would enhance the national credit, and attain much earlier the power of undertaking works of serious cost and importance. They would not only save time and money, but attain increased vigour and accuracy, by treating the larger questions of public policy at one time and place…they would set up a safeguard against violence or disorder, holding it in cheek by the common sense and common force of the federation. They would possess the power of…enabling each of the existing states to apply itself without conflict or jealousy to the special industry which its position and resources render most profitable…'.


Thus the process of Federation began. Debate within the Conferences and Conventions took a similar vein , predominantly revolving around economic issues. Formally, the precise issue of an uncaring Imperial rule was not voiced. However, many examples may be cited indicating that this was still strongly felt. For example, when discussing land rents to colonial governments, Sir J.G. Lee-Steere stated


'We would far rather that these rents should be made over to a Federal Government than that it should be administered by a Government in England unacquainted with the circumstances of the colony, but I do not think that Western Australia would be prepared to make over the revenue of the northern portion of the colony for the purposes of a Federal Government.'


However, the requirement for self-rule was frequently, and explicitly, referred. It was advanced that the Commonwealth of Australia would be better served by having a mixture of republican-styled structure based on the Westminster system. For example


'I have now shown pretty clearly that it is impossible, under the present circumstances of Australia, that we could enter into a complete federal dominion on the basis of that of Canada, because of the financial and the fiscal difficulties ...The question next arises, whether, if we find it impossible to enter into a federal dominion…we cannot agree to enter into a federation not quite so complete as that…'


. Overriding Impasse to Federation - States' Rights


'…the federation of Australia is desirable. Whether it is practicable is another matter…The question is-Will these different colonies…permit such a federation…?'


The process of federation was plagued from conception by capricious bickering colonies, predisposed with self-interest, stalling legislative processes and doggedly protecting their newly-found independence. For example, it took two years for all colonies to agree to a draft constitution being submitted to the people by referenda. Even this agreement had caveats placed upon it by Western Australia and Queensland.


The issue of States' rights was laid firmly and resolutely on the table in the first Conference, where delegates were of the opinion the colonies would not accept a Federal Executive. All later Conferences experienced States' rights being raised with varying degrees of precision and frankness. Often this was cloaked under the guise of national interest issues and defence . However, the true issue at hand was never far from the surface; States' rights.


Individual colonies wanted supremacy over the others, and were concerned another would be in a position to interfere or dictate. This affected, and indeed dictated, substantial portions of the constitution to ensuring States' rights were safeguarded.


Further evidence of the desire to attain federation, and the requirement to overcome the issue of States' rights can be seen in the 188 insertion of section 5 , specifically allowing Western Australia to impose duties. This was not contained in the 181 draft and was raised in every Conference from 181 to 188.


Hence, it is not intended to address the specific matters which cloaked States' rights. Rather, it is argued this was the overriding prerequisite to overcome to achieve federation and was succinctly stated by Sir Samuel Griffith


'…A Federal Parliament…must supersede the provincial Parliaments, and compel them to surrender some of their functions…let us get a complete Federal Parliament and Federal Executive, one Dominion with no rivalries -no customs rivalries at any rate, amongst ourselves…We have been accustomed for so long to self-government…We have been allowed absolute freedom to manage our own affairs; and I know that there are many people who, although they are favourable to the idea of federation in the abstract, would yet hesitate to give up any of those rights…The advantages of federation like everything else will have to be paid for…and every power which may be exercised by the Federal Government…involves a corresponding diminution in the powers of the separate Governments…That is the first objection with which we shall be met…'.


However, even with the final draft completed (The Commonwealth of Australia Bill ), the road was not cleared for federation as the Bill had to be submitted to all colonies and gain a referendum based 'yes' result. This took a further 0 months, with Western Australia not providing a 'yes' vote until after Queen Victoria gave Royal Assent to The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act.


4 An Australian Republic?


In the period 1850 to 100, Australians enjoyed increasing autonomy. Fiercely protected and demanded, whether from a colony base or a pseudo-national base, this formed the foundation structure of all federation debates.


To determine whether the same overriding impasse that confronted our Founding Fathers would also plague those wishing to institute a republic, a definition of the type of republic being proposed must be addressed.


4.1 Republican Theory Or Republican Practice?


Several authors advance the proposition that Australia is, at least substantially, a republic and as such, any further progression would require minimal, if any, constitutional amendment. Others have advanced the opposite. Each relies on the definition of 'republic', in turn determining potential constitutional amendments.


The definition of 'republic' has been transformed over centuries, as each society desirous of utilising the term, applies it to the type of government established, rather than ensuring the original definition determines the type of government. Hence, 'republic' has become '…a word of many connotations...' . The meaning has been amended in Roman and Greek BC societies, Latin interpretations and through to the more recent application by the American Founders.


A common thread amongst most interpretations is the issue of where true power lies. That is, the essence of a monarchy is that all power is vested in the monarch, whereas a republic requires all power to be vested in the community. Both structures require constitutional safeguards to ensure they do not slide into dictatorship; safeguards which are the elements that confuse monarchy with republic. When applied, they take power away from the ruling President or Monarch. This provides the basis for, in some cases, republic and monarchy to become interchangeable.


There is also the issue of a 'singular' or 'compound' republic. Each style of republic would require a greater or lesser degree of constitutional amendment.


If for example, a true republic were advanced, States' rights would have to be abolished, as would the Senate (or at the very least, severely curtail its powers), all reference to a monarch would have to substituted for a President , and the issue of election of the President, either popularly or appointed, would have to be addressed.


Given the history of fiercely demanded and defended States' rights, and the maintenance of such, it would be highly unlikely any call for a singular republic would survive the processes of debate, let alone referenda.


5 Conclusion


Clearly our Founding Fathers designed Australia's constitution on a mixture of monarchism, federalism and republicanism. Their ultimate goal was to ensure Australians maintained their autonomy, whilst retaining the security of not only being part of The Commonwealth, but also its history and traditions.


No debate in any Convention seriously advanced the premise Australia should become purely a republic or monarchy; but autonomy and States' rights were advanced, defended and protected at all times.


Based on not only Australians' history of the struggle towards federation, but also our history derived from centuries of British history, it is unlikely a true republic will advance to any form other than esoteric debate.


Whilst the concept of federation was eventually accepted, serious discussion of an Australian compound republic is only just beginning in an era of economic uncertainty and distrust of federal and state governments; similar to situations experienced in the 180's .


History will ultimately record the result.


Please note that this sample paper on Discuss the reasons for Federation and the chief problems faced by those responsible for drafting the Australian constitution. Do the same problems face those wanting to introduce an Australian republic?' is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Discuss the reasons for Federation and the chief problems faced by those responsible for drafting the Australian constitution. Do the same problems face those wanting to introduce an Australian republic?', we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom college paper on Discuss the reasons for Federation and the chief problems faced by those responsible for drafting the Australian constitution. Do the same problems face those wanting to introduce an Australian republic?' will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.


Order your authentic assignment and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!


Monday, August 19, 2019

Minoan influences: on them and their influence on others

If you order your custom term paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on minoan influences: on them and their influence on others. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality minoan influences: on them and their influence on others paper right on time.


Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in minoan influences: on them and their influence on others, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your minoan influences: on them and their influence on others paper at affordable prices!


Cretan Influences


The rugged island of Crete blocks the Aegean Sea from the rest of the Mediterranean. To the south and East of the island lie Asia and Egypt, where, as early as 000 BC remarkable civilizations where flourishing. Here people lived in cities and had systems of government. They had learned to write and knew something of science. Their art was remarkable and they had established trade with other countries. While Asia and Egypt where living it up in the world of technology, Europe was still banging rocks on cave walls for a good time on Saturday night.


Luckily for Crete, its location enabled the island to be influenced by the advanced civilizations of Asia, Egypt, Mesopotamia and Syria. Trading ships from these countries brought not only goods but also new ideas. These ideas transmitted into mainland Greece and onto Barbarian Europe.


The Minoans adapted these influences to their own purposes. Kind of like Mac Guyver takes the influences of technology, such as his digital watch, then takes your standard pocketknife, adds some Mac Guyver flair and you have one ready-made bomb.


Write my Essay on minoan influences: on them and their influence on others for me


Minoans and Egypt


Keftiu â€" see page 6


On the walls of some of the ancient tombs in Egypt there are paintings, which for many years completely baffled all the scholars who examined them. These paintings showed tall men with artificially slimmed waists, broad, bronzed shoulders and curling black hair, which bore little or no resemblance to Egyptians. They where wearing blue and gold loincloths and carrying tall conical vessels which were known nowhere else in the ancient world. Yet it was clear from the painting that they were not slaves or some subject race that owed the Egyptians allegiance.


According to Egyptian inscription they were †Keftiuor †Island People,who had come from across the †Great Green Sea.But this was little help because the Mediterranean has more islands than Bill Gates has cents. Scholars also found it hard to believe that the Mediterranean could produce a civilization contemporary with that of Egypt.


The sanity of the Egyptians was starting to be questioned, where they making up imaginary friends, the answer was to remain a mystery. It probably would have remained a mystery and made a small Cameo in a Mummy movie if it hadn’t been for Arthur Evans who unearthed the mysterious beings home. Crete. But this is not the only evidence of Minoans in Egypt.


1th Dynasty- Lahun


Contact between the Crete and the pyramid town Lahun is indicated by the discovery of Pottery shards at the site.


Also found at the site was a pyxis lid and fragments of local Egyptian pottery imitating Minoan styles. The vessels appear to be commons, maybe indicating Cretans working in the town.


Other Minoan shards of Kamares ware has been discovered at Lahun, el-Harag, Abydos and Elephantine.


18th Dynasty (1550-15)-Avaris â€" page 7


Archaeologists excavating at Avaris, Tell el-Dab’a, in Egypt have produced some extraordinary finds. They have found the remains of palatial buildings from the reign of the Pharoha Ahmose (1550-155. It was not the remains of the palatial buildings that were extraordinary, but fragments of wall paintings found in dumps created as the buildings were levelled. The remarkable thing about these fragments is that they are Minoan in style, technique and motif.


Scholars are not yet sure as to whether they were painted by Minoan artists, or by Egyptians imitating Minoan art styles.


Hundreds of fragments have been found, but in very poor condition.


The presence of these fragments dates them to 100 year earlier than the first representations of Cretans on Theban tombs, and earlier than the surviving frescos at Knossos, which has the same subject matter.


One building that the fragments were found in was a royal palace. The frescos owe little to the traditions of Egyptian wall decoration, which goes back to the beginning of the old kingdom.


They show similarity with the Knossos frescos, appear to have been executed to serve a ritual purpose and contain symbolic references to the Cretan ruler cult.


Bull leapers and acrobats associated; with motifs of the bull’s head and labyrinth belong totally to the Aegean world.


The varying scales of the frescos, their subject matter, and background colour, all indicate that the decorative scheme was extremely complex and spread over a series of buildings. Other frescos less complex and thought to be imitations of Minoan styles have been found at Tell Kabri in Palestine.


No Cretan artefacts were found with the frescos themselves or in the strata from which they originally came.


Suggestions for the appearance of Minoan frescos in Egypt are that Ahmose was a Cretan ally and that he may have taken a Cretan bride. Although the majority of scholars disagree with the last idea. The alliance is suggested due to the discovery of a Minoan style griffin on an axe of Ahmose’s. The finding of more than one monumental building in use suggests increased contact with the Aegean, including Crete.


Queen Ahotep’s, mother of Ahmose, tomb in Western Thebes illustrates Aegean or east Mediterranean motifs and craft techniques applied to Egyptian objects. These objects would have been greatly valued in Thebes. (PAGE 7)


There is small amount of Cretan Kamares ware pottery, but it occurs in early 1th Dynasty strata, and there is no evidence of continuity in buildings or artefacts between the 1th pots and 18th frescos.


The relationship between Crete and Egypt was at its closest during the reign of Tuthmoes III. The evidence for this comes from the written records of the Keftiu, who are depicted in wall paintings in the tomb of Rekmire, vizier of Tuthmoes III. They hold Minoan artefacts, which they are bearing as gifts to the Pharaoh. These gifts include rhyton, amphoras, jugs, relief vases, kraters and cups. Their dress and coiffures are Minoan.


On Crete an inscribed alabaster amphora with the name of Tuthmoes III was found in a tomb at Katsambass near Heraklion. This relationship was founded around the beginning of the 15th century.


Egyptian motifs can be found on items as remote as clay scarab beetles offered in the peak sanctuaries in parts of Crete. Egyptian stone vases were found on Crete, where their styles where imitated by Minoan craftsmen.


The frequent contact between the two cultures lead to the exchange of not only materials and products but also ideas.


It is suggested that the Minoans imported pigments from Egypt where almost identical colours have been found. The importation of these pigments would have influenced the final impact of the beautiful frescos they would have been used to decorate.


The Minoans also influenced the Egyptians in medical recipes. One, which dates roughly to the Middle Minoan Period, references to the herbs of the Keftiu. In order for this concoction to be made the Egyptians must have imported the herbs from the Minoans.


The Minoans must have had a great influence on Egypt, as they were distinguished from the ‘Ha-unebu’, all ‘people from beyond the seas’, by their special name ‘Keftiu’.



Origins



The Linear A tablet points to the origins of the Minoans. It has been thought to have probably derived from Phoenicia. If this is so, then it is an example of classical legends hinting at the truth. For Europa, the Mother of Minos is said to have been the daughter of the King of Phoenicia, and thus the two countries must have been linked from the very earliest times.


Others suggest refugees from Libya, who would have quit the area adjacent to the Nile delta region when Mena conquered this, who according to tradition united northern and southern Egypt around 000 BC. Similarities were the codpiece and the custom of leaving locks of hair hanging down in front of the ears. But such evidence can only provide a tiny argument that Minoans where wholly of Libyan origin. The Libyans also built circular tombs although not exactly the same as the ones found on the Mesara Plain.


The art of writing, as well as seal engraving, may have been introduced from Syria around the rd millennium BC. Disturbances in the region caused by the arrival of invaders from Asia Minor could have encouraged overseas migration


Over population may have lead to the creation of colonies on Thera and Kythera.


Although the original settlers may have came from Asia, the principal foreign contacts from very early times were with Egypt and Libya. For instance some of the oldest religious objects found in Egypt can be associated with the Minoans. For example the figure-of-eight shield was the emblem of a goddess called Neith in prehistoric Egypt.


Stone Age (7000-500 BC)


In the final Neolithic period, Crete developed relations with the rest of the Aegean. Red painted pottery indicates relations with north and east Aegean, where similar vases have been found.


Pottery found at Nerokourou indicates relations with east Aegean, Peloponnese and Kea.


Figurine found in a cave near Zakros, suggests influence from Cyprus where similar figurines have been found.


Pre-Palace Period (500-100 BC) â€" page


Civilizations in the Near East where experiencing writing, irrigated farming plains, barter, metallurgy, ruling dynasties, priesthoods and large palaces and monumental temples.


The experiences were to influence Crete in the rd millennium, other influenced later at the begging of middle Bronze Age.


The main influence was of a naval and commercial character, which in turn influenced society, ideas and economy.


The set up of a trade route with Cyprus led to trade with the Near East and Egypt. The Minoans imported Copper from Lavrion, Tin from Asia Minor, and silver from the Cyclades.


It is in this period that the vases bearing resemblance to those of the Egyptians have been found. Contacts with the rest of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean influenced the evolution and improvements in culture, art, trade, architecture, pottery, stone-engraving, metal working and seal engraving.


Technical advances such as burnishing, painted decoration and incision, can be seen in all four major Aegean cultural areas (Minoan, Cycladic, Helladic and North East Aegean). The similarities in these advances indicate that the cultures influenced each other equally.


A Cycladic corbelled tholos tomb resembles those on Crete, but on a much smaller scale. In turn the Cycladic pottery influenced sites on the North Coast of Crete (Ayia Photia and Archanes.) An example of this is the bird shaped vases that occur at the same time on Crete, Cyprus, North East Aegean and Asia Minor


Seals found from the Second pre-palace to the old palace provide evidence for foreign relations. Cylinder seals imported to Crete from Babylon, Syria and Cyprus have been found at Ayia Triada. Syrian influence is evident in the motifs on the seeling surface and shape. Early Minoan metalworking also reveals Syrian influences.


Old Palace Period (100-1650 BC)


The destruction of Akrotiri by an earthquake lead to the rebuilding of the city, under the influence of the Minoans, with multi-storey buildings lavishly decorated with wall paintings. Here there was found Minoan frescos of flowers, birds, monkeys, antelopes and a pair of youthful boxers.


This period has been called the period of the Minoanisation of the Cyclades, as this is the time when Minoan colonies where set up on some of the Cyclades.


The first palaces where also built in this time, and where later destroyed in 1700 BC


Tombs in Egypt contained groups of Kamares pottery, Minoan gold and silver and vases. These discoveries and the imitating of Minoan Kamares pottery suggests that the Minoans where influencing the Egyptian tastes in art.


The Minoan palace administrative system of this period was apparently influenced by similar systems in Syria, Mesopotamia and Egypt, especially in its external features. Shared features include the layout of the rooms of the palaces, the religious character of the ruler and the use of seals and seal impressions to control production.


New Palace Period (1650-1450 BC) â€"page 10


The building of the new palaces were influenced to some extent by the architecture of Mesopotamia, Syria, Phoenicia and Asia Minor. Power was now more centralised.


Wall paintings found on the islands of Milos, Kea and Thera reveal Minoan influences.


The writing style, Linear A, spread to Milos, Kea, Kythira, Naxos, Thera and mainland Greece.


Minoan cultural and economic influence was very strong on Thera, Thebes in Lakonia and Messenia. Religion, town planning and architecture appear to be the main influences. On Thera, Minoan architectural elements are confined to buildings called Xeste, these contained Minoan polythyra and wall paintings of †processions. These have been interpreted as public buildings


Cretans did not exercise political influence on south Greece, only cultural and economic. But political influence was necessary to secure the proper conditions for the conduct of trade.


Some important centres of Minoan status and influence were created in the south Aegean. These included


Kythera, which excavations have proved was an important settlement that possibly formed the link between Crete and mainland Greece. Kythera was also the point from which Minoan influence spread to the south part of the Peloponnese. Further excavations on the island have revealed rock-cut chamber tombs of Minoan type at Kastri and an important peak sanctuary at Ai Yiogi sto Vouno, in which a large number of Minoan bronze figurines had been dedicated.


At Trianda on Rhodes a settlement with a town plan similar to Malia was discovered. The houses have polythyra and dressed masonry facades, and pottery was either imported from Crete or imitated.


Miletos was an important centre outside of Crete. A number of Rock-cut-chamber tombs in Minoan style have been found here too.


On Karpathos more Rock cut Chamber tombs have been excavated along with a Minoan country villa.


At Iasos in Caria, the Minoan influence was the same as on Rhodes.


The three major centres in the south Aegean where Thera, Milos and Kea. Here Minoan features such as polythyra, light wells and lustral basins were introduced into their architecture. The Minoans also influenced these three centres wall paintings.


From around 1500 BC Cypriots adopted the Linear A script of Crete and adapted it to form a mixed Cypriot-Minoan script. Another aspect of Minoan influence on Cyprus can be seen in a type of underground rock-cut tomb with a small dromos and one or more chambers.


The relationship between Crete and Palestine and Syria had continued over from the previous period. They provided the Minoan’s with boars tusks, found at Zakros, and Canaanite amphoras, also found at Zakros. The importation of these materials influenced and expanded the Minoan art styles.


Creto-Mycenaean (1450-1100 BC) page 8


After 1400 BC the rulers of the Aegean where replaced by the Mycenaean’s. They now exported their pottery in considerable quantity to Troy, South-west Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and west to Sicily and South Italy.


In this period Greek warriors from mainland Greece came and established the Creto â€" Mycenaean civilization. All the other palaces destroyed, except for Knossos, which was the only large centre of authority.


The new inhabitants redecorated the Procession corridor, Great Propylia, Entire West Wing, Storerooms, Throne Room, Triparite Shrine, complex at North Entrance, Workshops in the east wing, Grand Staircase, Kings Megaron, Queens Megaron and the Shrine of Double Axe. The redecorations included new wall paintings, floors changes to entrances and the roofing of chests in the storerooms.


The evidence for the take over by Mycenaean’s is found in Egypt on the Pharaoh Amenophis III tomb in Thebes, dating to around 14th century BC. A wall lists the Aegean cities of Mycenae as Nauplion, Kythera and the Cretan cities of Knossos, Amnisos and Kydonia.


Other evidence of a change in the ruler of Crete can be found in the Egyptian tombs. The Keftiu in Rekmire’s tomb were intended to be Minoans and their colonists or allies from other Aegean islands. All of them are wearing decorated kilts reminiscent of those in the fresco along the Corridor of the Procession at Knossos. But when the frescos were being cleaned several years ago it was discovered that the figures had been altered. Originally they were painted with codpieces of the kind associated with the short, stiff kilt upturned at the back.


The change must have been important enough in the eyes of the Egyptian artist to merit record. The fact that none of the other foreigners shown were repainted suggests that there were two separate embassies from Crete to Egypt. The fist under original Minoan rule the second late in the reign of Tuthmoes III was probably sent by the Mycenaean’s. They would have been anxious to gain recognition and inherit Minoan trading rights.


The Mycenaean’s took over Crete and influenced everything pottery, religion, economy, trade, art, burials, economy, social status, politics, culture and writing.


In this period the first mention of slaves is introduced in linear tablets.


The Mycenaean’s eventually lead to the destruction of the Minoan culture.


Mesopotamia and Minoan Similarities.


In the rd Millennium BC the land of Sumer was divided into city-states. Each had at its centre the temple of the deity to whom it worshipped. The temple was the centre of all social commercial and administrative activity. The city governor was the high priest of the temple. He was the representative of the divinity, and all his authority emanated from the god. The temple was principally the dwelling of the god, as well as a ceremonial centre, treasury, town hall, storehouse and commercial centre. In addition it housed the priestly personnel and the temple workers.


The workshops and magazines occupied a considerable section. The priesthood controlled the Sumerian economy. It collected wealth from the land it possessed and from tributes. This was then redistributed to the population as wagrs for the services. The temple workers would rework wool or leather to a finished product. Stone could be carved to make stone vessels or sculpture.


The similarities are not totally exact, but there are enough to suggest influence from Mesopotamia. Like the Mesopotamian temple, the palaces have workshops and magazines attached to them. Cult meals were taking place in the Mesopotamian temples, are attested in the vicinity of the Minoan Shrines.


Crete is sometimes called the cradle of the Western/European civilization. Explanation. The people on the island of Crete had developed a civilization through trade with other countries. The Cretans then influenced famous classical cities on the Greek mainland such as Athens, Sparta and Mycenae. From these cities its influence spread to Rome, Rome carried the influences across the British Isles. The British then carried to America, Australia and other countries, taking the Minoan influences across most of the Western World.


BIBLIOGRAPHY


Books


· The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt by Ian Shaw, Oxford University Press


· Every Day Life in Ancient Crete by R.F.Willets, BT Batsford LTD London


· Ancient Crete by Frances Wilkins, Weidenfeld & Nicolson LTD


· The Minoan World by Arthur Cotterell, Book Club Associates London.


· Ancinet Crete & Mycenae by Charles Alexander Robinson Jr, Franklin Watts Inc


· Minoan Crete by Andonis Vasilakis, Adam Editions


Web Pages


· http//www.dilos.com/location/1450


· http//www.dragonridge.com/greece/minoan1.thm


· http//www.lfc.edu/~fisher/greecewed/indexitin1.thml


· http//www.indiana.edu/~classics/aegean/R1.html


· http/emuseum.mnsu.edu/prehistory/egypt/othercultures/egyptminoan.html


Please note that this sample paper on minoan influences: on them and their influence on others is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on minoan influences: on them and their influence on others, we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom college paper on minoan influences: on them and their influence on others will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.


Order your authentic assignment and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!


Friday, August 16, 2019

Looking inside Mergers and Acquisitions

If you order your custom term paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on Looking inside Mergers and Acquisitions. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality Looking inside Mergers and Acquisitions paper right on time.


Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in Looking inside Mergers and Acquisitions, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your Looking inside Mergers and Acquisitions paper at affordable prices!


Introduction


Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are now emerging as a major influence on contemporary business expansion. They provide a popular means of achieving rapid growth and market entry. It has been reported that there are over 0,000 M&A transactions annually in the new Millennium, which could equivalent to the completion of one deal every 17 minutes. Companies spent $,500 billion US dollars altogether in 000 in all M&A cases, a huge increase despite nearly $500bn in 11 and $1,500bn in 17. These factors could figure out that, from both terms of global cases and investment, merger and acquisition are widely welcomed by chief executives globally.


In spite of the popularity of merger and acquisition, a recent report of Financial Times sounded the alarm and gave a warning between 65 and 75% of all mergers and acquisitions fail. Some other resources reported about one in two merger and acquisition cases fail. Anyway, it seems that M&A activities should be accompanied by a lot of risks. Obviously, chief executives actively pursue this risky method of business expansion because they are confident to handle the problems accompanying their M&A activities.


Why are they willing to take the high risks and pursuit M&A? What benefit can merger and acquisition bring to them? What kind of risk will they face that could be very dangerous if they fail to handle? What critically determine M&A to succeed or fail? This disquisition aims to find answers to these questions.


Literature review on M&A


M&A Concepts


Before going any further analysing mergers and acquisitions, some sort of theoretical background research are to be done. The very first of all what is merger and acquisition?


A merger, in my opinion, can be viewed as a combination of two previously separate organisations rather than a take-over of one by the other. A merger involves two companies, often of approximately similar size, coming together to combine all of their assets. The result of a merger is the formation of a new legal entity that encompasses the combined assets of the two previously independent companies. Shareholders in the two merging companies become the joint owners of the new entity.


In contrast, an acquisition may be defined as one company, the 'bidder', purchases a controlling interest in another company, the 'target'. Typically, the bidding firm offers either cash or its own shares in exchange for the shares of the target company. Once the acquisition is completed, the bidding company controls all of the assets, both tangible and intangible, of the target entity and for this reason acquisitions are often referred to as take-overs.


M&A Performance


There has been a great deal of academic studies about M&A performance. One study by McKinsey & Company reveals that 4 per cent of international acquisitions fail to produce a financial return that meets or exceeds the acquirer's cost of capital; put another way 4 per cent destroy shareholder value for the acquiring firm. (Bleeke and Ernst, 1)


Other studies have adopted broader definitions of performance, typically assessing the outcome of an acquisition against the original objectives set for it, both financial and non-financial. These assessments are usually carried out three to five years following the completion of the acquisition and are conducted using input from the acquiring company. Recent research along these lines indicates that 45 to 55 per cent of acquirers are 'neutral to highly dissatisfied' with the overall performance of their acquisitions.


Approximately 45 per cent of all acquired firms are divested after an average of seven years under the ownership of the acquirer. Divestment has sometimes been taken to signify acquisition failure, but it could also indicate that an acquirer wishes to realise its profits following a successful restructuring of the acquired company. Indeed, research data further show that 40 per cent of divestitures are sold on at a price in excess of their acquisition cost, so this is perhaps not a particularly reliable performance measure. (Kaplan and Weisbach, 1)


Some researchers have investigated the impact of M&A on overall wealth generation, which typically rely on stock market measures of performance. Wealth generation is calculated from the change in the share prices of the bidder and target around the time of the acquisition announcement. Results of such studies reveal that, in general, acquisitions create negligible or only very small wealth gains. However, the distribution of any gain between the shareholders of the bidding and target companies is not even.


One in-depth study of 4 British acquisitions completed between 180 and 10 found that target companies gained approximately 0 per cent in value, while shareholders in bidding companies lost approximately 5 per cent. The acquisitions had produced overall wealth gains of only per cent. A further interpretation of this result is that at the level of the overall economy acquisition activity represents little more than the transfer of wealth from bidder to target shareholders. (Sudarsanam, Holl and Salami, 16)


However, it is interesting to note that while the stock market based studies have tended to show that on average bidders' returns are negative, within this most do report that around 50 per cent of individual bidders show positive abnormal returns. This again confirms the finding that only approximately one in two acquisitions can be classified as successes for the acquiring company.


The Four Value Creation Mechanisms


The ultimate driver of value creation within acquisitions is the ability to leverage the individual resources and capabilities of the combining companies. The value creation could be very important motive for chief executives in making an M&A decision. Relevant arguments have led to a more generalised model of acquisition value creation. (Haspeslagh and Jemison, 11; Porter, 187) There are four generic mechanisms through which value can be created from an acquisition


1. Resource Sharing, in which certain operating assets of the two companies are combined and rationalised, leading to cost reductions through economies of scale or scope. Resource sharing is generally based on the existence of similarities between the two organisations and frequently employed within intra-industry acquisitions.


. Knowledge (or skills) Transfer, where value-adding knowledge such as production technology, marketing know-how, or financial control skills is transferred from the acquiring firm to the acquired, or vice versa. Additional value is created through the resulting reduction in costs or improvement in market position leading to enhanced revenues and/or margins. Knowledge transfer is often a key source of value creation within cross-border acquisitions, in which the opportunities to share operational resources may be limited by geographic distance.


. Combination Benefits, where an increase in market power or a reduction in competitive intensity is achieved, or where financial resources are beneficially combined. A company making a large acquisition within its existing industry, or a series of smaller ones, may succeed in raising profit margins by effecting a transformation of the industry structure. In other instances financially based combination benefits may be available. These may include the use of an acquirer's superior credit rating to reduce the interest charge of an indebted target, the consolidation of a target's losses to reduce tax liability, or the exploitation of various balance sheet positions.


4. Restructuring is applicable when the acquired company contains undervalued or under-utilised assets. Here acquirers seek to exceed their acquisition costs by divesting certain assets at their true market value and by raising the productivity of the remaining assets. The skill of the acquirer is in recognising and being able to realise the true value of the target's assets.


Motives of M&A


Individual firms may have wide range of motives for making an acquisition. But generally the term 'merger' and 'acquisition' do have precise meanings in certain contexts, for example legal structures. They share common motives and criteria for success. The wide range of motives for making an M&A can be classified into three groups strategic motives, financial motives and managerial motives.


Strategic Motives


A firm may undertake a merger or acquisition in order to increase its penetration of an existing product market, to enter a new product market, to enter a new geographical territory or to diversify away from its core business.


M&A may be a particularly attractive means of achieving such strategic developments under certain conditions. Firstly, in mature industries containing a number of established players, expansion or entry via merger or acquisition can avoid the competitive reaction that can accompany attempts to grow by organic growth; rather than intensifying the rivalry by adding further productive capacity, the potential competition is purchased. Secondly, in some industries economies of scale are central to a competitive cost structure and the purchase of an enterprise that is already of the requisite scale can provide entry without the risk of starting at a cost disadvantage.


Furthermore, in consumer goods industries this argument can be extended to securing distribution channels. A frequent barrier to a product range expansion or a move into a new product area is the premium attached to retailers' shelf space. Acquisition of a company that is already operating in the desired product area gives immediate access to an established distribution channel and its valuable shelf space, in addition to its other assets such as manufacturing capacity and brand name. Similarly, the speed with which acquisitions can provide an established market position can be very useful if a firm believes it is a late entrant relative to its competitors into a particular product or geographic market.


Companies may also undertake a merger or acquisition because they wish to strengthen their existing resource base in a specific area or because they lack a particular competence that would be needed to develop their strategy by internal means. For example when AOL merged with Time Warner it gained access to their back-catalogues of books and films, an asset that would have been virtually impossible to develop internally. Similarly, an acquisition might be used to gain a leading-edge product or process technology, an established brand name, access to a distribution channel, or managerial know-how. The latter factor can be especially relevant to cross-border acquisitions there the bidding company often lacks any operating experience in the overseas market and is keen to exploit the local market knowledge of the target firm's management team.


Financial Motives


Organisational growth via merger and acquisition may be particularly attractive to a publicly quoted company if its priceearnings ratio is relatively high compared to that of target companies. Under such circumstances an acquisition funded by shares can provide an immediate earnings per share enhancement to the acquiring firm.


This type of financial logic also extends to the acquisition of companies in order to exploit their accumulated tax credits or high balance sheet liquidity. A company making healthy profits may be attracted to acquire a target firm that has built up losses over a period of time. Once the acquisition is completed, and if the appropriate accounting conditions are met, the accumulated losses of the target can be set against the future profits of the acquirer so reducing the latter's corporation tax liability. Similarly, a firm that possesses a cash-rich balance sheet or is in a highly cash generative business may make an attractive take-over target for a company that has promising investment opportunities of its own. The acquirer is able to raise the rate of return on the target company's cash by investing it in its own business or to extend its own borrowing capacity by virtue of its enhanced cash flow position. This logic can even be reversed where by acquirers with very strong balance sheets and a associated high credit rating take over a highly geared business and subsequently enhance profits by refinancing the debt within the acquired company at a lower interest rate.


Finally, some acquirers are motivated to make acquisitions in the hope that they can purchase a company at a bargain price and later sell it on, either whole or in its constituent parts, at a profit. While few, if any, pure 'asset-stripping' opportunities remain today; a modern variant is the practice of 'unbundling'. This involves acquiring an existing conglomerate, the stock market value of which is less than the sum of the individual constituent businesses. The businesses are then sold off piecemeal, creating a surplus over the acquisition cost


Managerial Motives


It has been suggested that some take-overs be undertaken in the interests of the firm's managers rather than its shareholders. An acquisition can help to advance a manager's own position through a rapid increase in the size of the company that the manager is responsible for, or through an increased dependence on the manager's particular skills via the purchase of a target business which is reliant on those skills. (Berkovitch and Narayanan, 1)


Acquisitions that are motivated primarily by the self-interest of the managers of the acquiring firm are unlikely to be value maximising for its shareholders. This is for two reasons. First, managers driven to make acquisitions for personal reasons may be less concerned to make a careful economic analysis of whether the acquisition has the potential to create shareholder value. Second, they may be prepared to pay a higher price for the acquisition than would be justified on purely economic grounds. Direct research into the 'empire building' theory of acquisitions is very difficult given the natural reluctance of executives to admit that personal motives may have played a role in a corporate decision.


However, there is tangential support available from research, which shows that firms with strong CEOs but weak corporate governance structures tend to pay higher premiums for their acquisitions. Where a strong CEO was also chairman of the board, or where the board of directors contained a low proportion of non-executive (external) directors, the acquisitions made by the firm exhibited higher bid premiums and inferior shareholder returns. Put more positively, the findings do also suggest that the presence of a strong board of directors can limit the ability of executives to pursue acquisitions for their own motives. (Hayward and Hambrick, 17)


Why M&A Fail


There are many reasons that could make an M&A fail. There are two most popular but important reasons that all chief executives have to consider carefully. First, to recover from the bid premium and second, the employee resistance. Any inconsiderateness about any single one of the mentioned possible-failure-causes will lead to disaster of the whole M&A performance.


The Bid Premium


The share price of a target company tends to rise on the announcement of an acquisition, which is because the shareholders of a target company almost always demand a premium over and above the current share price before they agree to accept a take-over offer. This premium is known as the 'bid premium'.


The average bid premium for British take-overs involving publicly quoted companies has been around 5 per cent for friendly (agreed) acquisitions in recent years, whereas hostile acquisitions have attracted premiums of around 45 per cent. The higher premiums paid in hostile take-overs reflect the greater resistance to the bid approach and there may be competition amongst more than one bidder. This is one reason why hostile acquisitions have been found to perform less well than friendly transactions from the perspective of the acquiring company. (Healy, Palepu and Ruback, 17) In a pure merger it may be that no bid premium is required, as managers and shareholders of both parties wish the transaction to proceed and will continue to have a stake in the control and ownership of the merged entity.


Clearly, the need to pay a bid premium puts a major constraint on an acquirer's ability to generate positive returns for its own shareholders as a result of an acquisition. In order to create value successfully, the future cash flow stream of the acquired company has to be increased by an amount that exceeds the bid premium, plus the often-overlooked costs incurred in integrating the acquisition and making the bid itself. Let us have a look at a simplified example a company that has a pre-bid stock market value of £100 million. If the company is subsequently acquired at a 5 per cent bid premium for £15 million, it means that the acquirer must raise the future cash flows by £5 million just to recover the bid premium, which has already paid to the previous owners. In effect, the bid premium is a portion of future value that is paid in advance to the previous owners. The acquisition will only generate value for the acquirer if future cash flows are raised by more than £5 million. Many acquisitions fail merely because insufficient value is created to recoup the bid premium.


Employee Resistance


In many instance Employee Resistance hinders the ability of the acquirer to create the planned value. Employee frequently feel high levels of anxiety and uncertainty when a merger or acquisition is announced as concerns are voiced over issues ranging from changes in management style to possible redundancies. These concerns are often compounded once the acquisition is complete and new reporting hierarchies, management structures, and control systems are actually introduced. Staff and managers within the acquired firm can feel alienated and marginalised by the changes themselves and also by the implications for planned career paths and previously familiar and comfortable working patterns. These negative feelings can manifest themselves as increased employee stress, reduced work performance and commitment acts of non-compliance and in some cases even deliberately disruptive behaviours.


The impact of employee resistance is confirmed by research conducted within newly acquired US firms. Human resource problems, including absenteeism, staff turnover, conflict levels and reduced work quality, rose in line with the degree of change that followed an acquisition. The occurrence of these human resource problems, in turn, had a clear negative impact on the subsequent performance of the affected acquisitions. (Shanley, 14)


Culture clashes can be a major cause of employee resistance. M&A involve the coming together of two separate organisational cultures that had previously defined the rituals and routines of working life within their respective companies. The marriage of different and incompatible cultures can foster feelings of uncertainty and insecurity amongst employees as differences in the philosophies, values and practices of the two companies become exposed in the post-acquisition period. Several empirical studies have found that differences in the national cultures of the bidder and target are associated with inferior acquisition outcome, although the separation of the influences of organisational and national culture is a methodological difficulty faced by such studies. (Schoenberg, 000)



Conclusion


M&A are an increasingly popular means of corporate expansion, motivated by a variety of strategic, financial and managerial objectives. Yet despite their popularity, it has been confirmed by a report of the Financial Times that between 65 and 75% of all mergers and acquisitions fail.


There are two major causes of M&A failures. First, the sufficient additional value must be created within the combined entity to more than offset any bid premium paid and the associated costs of combination. Second, employee resistance to the combination must be minimised in order to avoid long-term human resource problems and the loss of key personnel.


Despite the high failure rate of M&A deals, chief executives still pursue merger and acquisition. This is because of the three major motives, namely strategic, financial and managerial, and the value creation mechanisms. These could be the main reasons why M&A appear set to remain a central component of the corporate strategy agenda. References


Berkovitch E. and Narayanan M. (1). 'Motives for Takeovers An Empirical Investigation'. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 8/ 47-61


Bleeke,J. and Ernst D. (1). Collaborating to Compete Using Strategic Alliances and Acquisitions in the Global Marketplace. New York J. Wiley &Sons


Haspeslagh P. and Jemison D. (11). Managing Acquisitions Creating Value through Corporate Renewal. New York Free Press


Hayward M. and Hambrick D. (17). 'Explaining the Premiums Paid for Large Acquisitions Evisence of CEO Hubris'. Administrative Science Quarterly, 4 10-7


Healy P., Palepu K. and Ruback R. (17). 'Which Takeovers Are Profitable? Strategic or Financial?' Sloan Management Review, 8/4 45-57


Kaplan S. and Weisbach M. (1). 'The Success of Acquisitions Evidence from Divestitures'. Journal of Finance, 57/1 107-8


Porter M. (187). 'From Competitive Advantage to Corporate Strategy'. Harvard Business Review, 65/4-5


Schoenberg R. (000). 'The Influence of Culture Compatibility within Cross-Border Acquisitions A Review'. Advances in Mergers and Acquisitions, 1 4-5


Shanley M. (14). 'Determinants and Consequences of Post-Acquisition Change', in G. von Krogh, A. Ainatra and H. Singh (eds.), The Management of Corporate Acquisitions. London Macmillan, 1- 41


Sudarsanam S., Holl P. and Salami A. (16). 'Shareholder Wealth Gains in Mergers Effect of Synergy and Ownership Structure'. Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, 67-8


Please note that this sample paper on Looking inside Mergers and Acquisitions is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Looking inside Mergers and Acquisitions, we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom college paper on Looking inside Mergers and Acquisitions will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.


Order your authentic assignment and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!