Poverty in India Essay Example for Free

Poverty in India Essay Poverty is the deprivation of food, shelter, money and clothing that occurs when people cannot satisfy their basic needs. Poverty can be understood simply as a lack of money, or more broadly in terms of barriers to everyday life. It refers to a situation where a person is unable meet the basic necessities of life. Absolute poverty or destitution refers to the state of severe deprivation of basic human needs, which commonly includes food, water, sanitation, clothing, shelter, health care, education and information. The amount of income a person or family needs to purchase an absolute amount of the basic necessities of life. These basic necessities are identified in terms of calories of food, BTUs of energy, square feet of living space, etc. The problem with the absolute poverty level is that there really are no absolutes when in comes to consuming goods. Relative poverty views poverty as socially defined and dependent on social context, hence relative poverty is a measure of income inequality. Usually, relative poverty is measured as the percentage of population with income less than some fixed proportion of median income. There are several other different income inequality metrics, for example the Gini coefficient or the Theil Index. Relative poverty measures are used as official poverty rates in several developed countries. As such these poverty statistics measure inequality rather than material deprivation or hardship. The measurements are usually based on a persons yearly income and frequently take no account of total wealth. Definitions United Nations: Fundamentally, poverty is a denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. It means lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. It means not having enough to food and clothing a family, not having a school or clinic to go to, not having the land on which to grow one’s food or a job to earn one’s living, not having access to credit. It means insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of individuals, households and communities. It means susceptibility to violence, and it often implies living in marginal or fragile environments, without access to clean water or sanitation. World Bank: Poverty is pronounced deprivation in well-being, and comprises many dimensions. It includes low incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity. Poverty also encompasses low  levels of health and education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity to better one’s life. Copenhagen Declaration: Absolute poverty is a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to social services. The term absolute poverty is sometimes synonymously referred to as extreme poverty. World Health Organisation: Poverty is associated with the undermining of a range of key human attributes, including health. The poor are exposed to greater personal and environmental health risks, are less well nourished, have less information and are less able to access health care; they thus have a higher risk of illness and disability. Conversely, illness can reduce household savings, lower learning ability, reduce productivity, and lead to a diminished quality of life, thereby perpetuating or even increasing poverty. Poverty line is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a given country. In practice, like the definition of poverty, the official or common understanding of the poverty line is significantly higher in developed countries than in developing countries. The common international poverty line has in the past been roughly $1 a day. In 2008, the World Bank came out with a revised figure of $1.25 at 2005 purchasing-power parity (PPP). Determining the poverty line is usually done by finding the total cost of all the essential resources that an average human adult consumes in one year. Individual factors are often used to account for various circumstances, such as whether one is a parent, elderly, a child, married, etc. The poverty threshold may be adjusted annually. Below Poverty Line is an economic benchmark and poverty threshold used by the government of India to indicate economic disadvantage and to identify individuals and households in need of government assistance and aid. It is determined using various parameters which vary from state to state and within states. The present criteria are based on a survey conducted in 2002. Going into a survey due for a decade, Indias central government is undecided on criteria to identify families below poverty line. Poverty in India The problem of poverty and unemployment is considered as the biggest  challenge to development planning in India. High poverty levels are synonymous with poor quality of life, deprivation, malnutrition, illiteracy and low human resource development. The slogan of poverty eradication has been adopted by all political parties in one form or another and there is a national agreement for the goal of poverty alleviation. The national consensus on poverty alleviation provided the necessary condition for launching various schemes and programmes aimed at achieving this objective. But the persistence of poverty during all these years suggests that the national consensus on objectives did not and could not provide sufficient conditions for poverty alleviation. The starting point for estimating the number of households below the poverty line is a nutritional requirement per person per day at some base point. There is a debate on the minimum calorie requirement, and whether it should be the same for all parts of the country. Most acceptable figures are 2,400 calories per person per day in rural areas, and 2,200 calories per person per day in urban areas. The next step is to translate the nutrient requirement into monetary terms. The expenditure level of households which are able to spend the requisite amount to obtain the desired calories serves as the cut-off point, or the poverty line. To adjust the poverty line over a period of time, price variations have to be considered and an appropriate price deflator has to be selected. The problem arises in deciding upon such a deflator. Thus, the following elements mainly affect the magnitude of the poverty ratio: (i) the nutrition norm (translated into monetary terms); (ii) price deflator used to update the poverty line; and (iii) pro rata adjustment in the number of households in different expenditure classes to determine the number of households below and above the poverty line. Different assumptions and methods are used for these three purposes, which accounts for the different estimates provided by scholars. The Planning Commission has been estimating the incidence of poverty at the national and state level using the methodology contained in the report of the Expert Group on Estimation of Proportion and Number of Poor (Lakdawala Committee) and applying it to consumption expenditure data from the large sample surveys on consumer expenditure conducted by the NSSO (National Sample Survey Organisation) at an interval of approximately five years. Estimates of Poverty (Per cent) Year All India Rural Urban All India Poverty Ratio Rural Poverty Ratio Urban Poverty Ratio Number (per cent) Number (per cent) Number (per cent) (Million) (Million) (Million) 1973-74 321 54.9 261 56.4 60 49.0 1977-78 329 51.3 264 53.1 65 45.2 1983 323 44.5 252 45.7 71 40.8 1987-88 307 38.9 232 39.1 75 38.2 1993-94 320 36.0 244 37.3 76 32.4 1999-2000 260 26.1 193 27.1 67 23.6 2004-05 239 21.8 170 21.8 68 21.7 Problems caused due to poverty Human poverty measures suggest even worse outcomes than for income poverty in India. India has never been a good performer in human development terms, despite the much better indicators in some states, particularly Kerala. Overall, both health and education indicators have lagged well below those in other countries at similar levels of development and with similar per capita income. But food poverty has been of particular concern. Recent studies have shown alarming levels of hunger, especially in certain states of India. Studies by IFPRI and ISHI quoted in Banerjee (2008) suggest that most states in India rank somewhere among the poor Sub-Saharan countries:  Punjab, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Assam have a „serious‟ level of hunger; Madhya Pradesh fares worst in the „extremely alarming‟ cohort of hunger. All the other states record an „alarming‟ level of hunger, which is also the general ranking for the whole country. More appallingly, the situation appears to have worsened in the recent period of rapid economic growth. National Sample Surveys shows declining per capita calorie consumption, not only among the entire population, but also among the bottom quartiles, for which consumption was already very inadequate by international standards. Other indicators of both nutrition and health are also extreme. The latest National Family Health Survey for 2005–06 shows that the proportion of underweight children below the age of five years was 45.6 per cent in rural India and 32.7 per cent in urban India, indicating hardly any change from the previous survey undertaken eight years previously. More than one-third of the rural population was also underweight. Anaemia often a good indicator of nutritional deprivation was also widespread: 79.2 per cent of children aged 12–23 months and 56.2 per cent of ever-married women between 15 and 59 years were found to be anaemic. Conclusion Poverty Alleviation Programmes The poverty alleviation programme have been broadly classified into self-employment programmes, wage employment programmes, food safety programme and social security programmes. The focus is on the central government schemes only. It is not possible to map the special programmes of all the states. It must be noted here that some of the progressive states have added additional components or given further subsidy to enhance the benefits of the central schemes. For example, in the highly subsidized public distribution system of Andhra Pradesh, the BPL card holders were provided rice at Rs. 2 per kg. Self-employment programmes: This programme was started in 1970s in rural areas of the country in the name of Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) to increase the source of income of small farmers and landless labourers. The beneficiaries were given subsidized credit, training, and infrastructure, so that they could find new sources of  earning. In this scheme, agricultural labourers and small farmers received new skills to involve in vocations other than cultivating land. They included fishery, animal husbandry, and forestry. In the 1980s, this scheme was extended to schedule castes and tribes, women and rural artisans. Wage employment programmes: The main purpose of the wage employment programmes is to provide a livelihood during the lean agricultural season as well as during drought and floods. Under these programmes, villagers worked to improve the village infrastructure such as deepening the village ponds, constructing village schools and improving the rural roads. Thus the programmes not only provided employment to the villagers but also improved village infrastructure and created village public assets. A positive fall out of this programme is that it created higher demand for village labour, thereby pushing up the wage of the labourer in the villages. Food security programmes: Meeting the very basic need of access to food is a major challenge to the government in the post-economic reform era. Those who are below poverty line are faced with the problem of meeting this very basic need. Starvation and hunger have been reported in different parts of the country, even in economically advanced states like Maharashtra. There is malnutrition in all age groups, especially among children. Problem of low birth weight due to under nutrition of mother during pregnancy and underweight of children are rampant in the country. The purchasing power of certain section of the society is so low that they cannot access food at the market price. They need the safety net of food subsidy. In this context, public distribution system or PDS assumes importance. Social security programmes: Social security programmes are meant for those who are at the bottom of the BPL facing destitution and desertion. The central government has launched the National Social Assistance Programme or NSAP in August 1995. Under NSAP, there are three schemes. The first one is the National Old Age Pension Scheme or NOAPS. A pension amount of Rs. 75 per month is given to those who are above the age of 65 years and are destitute without any regular source of income or support from any family members or relatives. Though it is a very useful scheme for the elderly destitute, the coverage of the programme was not satisfactory. In the year 1999-2000, 8.71 million eligible elderly were identified, but the scheme could reach out to only 5 million beneficiaries. It was found that the benefits really reached the  poor and the leakage rate was found to be low.

Traditional Chinese Culture And Chinese Marriage Theology Religion Essay

Traditional Chinese Culture And Chinese Marriage Theology Religion Essay Marriage is an important part of life. Different cultures have their own tradition to celebrate this big event. Through understanding the traditional customs of marriage, we could learn more about the nations culture and values. In this essay, features of traditional Chinese marriage will be introduced and we will look at how Chinese Culture and traditional values are involved and influence the traditional Chinese marriage culture. Introduction First of all, we should have some brief understanding on some basic traditional values about families and the ancient Chinese society. In traditional Chinese culture, the family units are the basic units of the society which forms the nation. When the family units are well-ordered, the society will then become well-organized and eventually form a harmonious nation. And for thousand years, Confucianism has a very deep influence to Chinese culture and has significant impact in different aspects of the Chinese society. Confucianism is a philosophy which emphasizes on the moral ethics of peoples behaviours in daily life. It is a set of moral and ethical rules or ideas that dictate how a person should behave. It plays a key role in forming the social norms of the Chinese society (Yu 69). Patriarchal Society and values Traditional Chinese families are clan and patriarchal based. A clan is composed by descendants of the same ancestors and families which inherit the same surname. A clan emphasis greatly on kinship and blood relationship, they are regarded as an extension and the continuity of the family. Traditional family always put the clans interests above personal interests and personal honor as the clans honor and shame are closely related to one self. These values play a significant role in traditional Chinese marriage culture. Marriage in WuLun (à ¤Ã‚ ºÃ¢â‚¬ Ãƒ ¥Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ «) In Confucianism, one of ethical and moral rules on the individuals and social interaction is WuLun (à ¤Ã‚ ºÃ¢â‚¬ Ãƒ ¥Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ «) . WuLun indicates the five major relationships within a society. The Five Relationships are King to subject, Father to son, Husband to wife, Elder brother to younger brother and Friend to friend (Yu 94). Maintaining good relationships will stability and prosperity of the society and embrace the whole nation to live in harmony. One of the relationships which I would like to mention is Husband to wife, in other words, it is about marriage. To the Confucians, marriage is important to both the clan and the society. The marriage not only symbolizes the joining of two individuals but also the joining of two families with different surnames. Therefore, marriage can act as a medium to connect different families and clans to form a society and even nations. To certain extent, a good relationship of marriage is believed to bring harmony to the society and the whol e world is a big family. Arranged Marriage and matching For traditional Chinese marriage, lots of constraints were also attached with. First of all, a marriage is always pre-arranged by parents, but not based on the couples love and own choice. One of the reasons is that the marriages are usually associated with political reasons and benefits. But the most important one is that the marriage is a major family event and it is a matter of the clan, therefore the marriage must be decided by the parents and individuals must subject to eldership. Brides and grooms will only see or know each other until the wedding day comes ( Gu 137). Moreover, as the Chinese said, Bamboo door to bamboos one, wood door to woods one. To choose an ideal partner, the wealth and social status of the family must also take into consideration. To the male side, the marriage is directly affecting the prosperity and the reputation of their family in the future. The fame of the family and social status of the family is extremely important in traditional Chinese value. People would tend to look for potential families who had similar or same social status as they were to marry with. Therefore a boy who comes from a wealthy family will never be permitted by his parents to marry a girl from a poor family. Confucians emphasize on Li à §Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ ® Li, or the rites, are the guidelines for people to behave properly. It emphasizes respect to others and surroundings through rules and ceremonies. The ideas of Li are closely related to ethics, human nature and social order in society. Li is essential and favourable to society because it encourages and reminds people to aware and fulfills their responsibilities towards others. Three Letters Six etiquettes à ¤Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¸Ãƒ ¥Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ­Ãƒ §Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ ® Marriage also has guidelines and rites to follow and procedures are written down in the Book of Rites. Each of the complex procedures has its own symbolic meaning and part of the essential processes in traditional Chinese wedding are the Three Letters Six etiquettes. The Three Letters are the betrothal letter, gift letter and the wedding letter. These letters are the formal documents with the meaning of engagement, gift and confirmation of the marriage. The Six etiquettes are proposal, assessing birth date, presenting betrothal gifts, presenting wedding gifts, setting a wedding date, and finally the wedding ceremony (Chinese Social Customs). Proposal: After the parents of the male side choose a girl, they would then find a matchmaker and her role is to propose and present the male familys request to the girls family and parents. Birth date assessment: If the brides parents did not oppose to the marriage, the matchmaker would ask the birth date and hour of the bride to ensure the couples compatibility. If there were signs of conflicts between the numbers, which is believed to bring disasters to both families, then the proposed marriage will abandoned immediately. Presenting betrothal gifts: After both of the birth dates and hours were approved, the bridegrooms family would ask the matchmaker to arrange and present betrothal gifts to the brides family along with the betrothal letter. Presenting wedding gifts: The bridegrooms family would send wedding gifts formally to the brides family. Gifts usually include tea, beans, oranges, pomegranates, bridal cakes, coconuts, wine, red hair braids, lilies and many other delicacies, each with symbolic meaning in the wedding and the gifts can also show the familys wealth Setting a wedding date: An auspicious date is select for the wedding ceremony. Ceremony: On that day, the bridegroom departs his own home and play loud and cheerful music along the way to the brides home. During the wedding ceremony, both bride and groom have to stand side by side and make three bows. Three bows is the most important rites in the ceremony. The first bow is made to the Heaven and Earth and ancestors. The second bow is to parents and the third one is to each other. (Chinese Wedding traditions) From the above wedding procedures Three Letters Six etiquettes, two main traditional Chinese values can be observed. First, under the Confucian worldview, Chinese believe that the world is structured by sancai (Heaven, Earth and Human) and they all share the same nature and this nature is characterized by harmony. Confucian considers people and nature as a whole and any confrontation with the nature will destroy the harmony. Therefore, assessing birth dates and hours for choosing the correct bride and setting an appropriate wedding date is to avoid any confrontation between the nature and human. Choosing the right bride and right date can avoid any disasters from happening and prevent bad luck, and the marriage is then considered as auspicious, which brings good fortune. Second, the ceremonies show the significance of filial piety. Amongst the 100 virtues, filial piety come first. Filial piety can be referring to full respect and unquestioning obedience to parents. But it is more than that. Confucians consider filial piety as the most important virtue and must be shown not only towards to parents and elders, but also the dead. Reverence for ancestors and worship them is also part of the filial piety. People believe that the ancestor in heaven will bring peace and happiness to the clan descendants. Filial piety, by extension, is showing respect to the past and to the whole nation. We could see this virtue easily from the Three Bows in the wedding ceremony. The wedding ceremony takes place at the family hall because it is an important event for the family, the clan and ancestors. The three bows first shows great respect to the nature and then show filial piety to ancestor and parents. And in another ceremony, tea ceremony, the new couples have to kneel down while serving tea to parents and elder in order to show filial piety to them (Katie). Male superiority in Chinese traditional family As mentioned earlier, the traditional Chinese adopted Patriarchy. It is a social system that male is central to both family and society, and where men hold authority and power over children and women. It shows the higher status of male than female, in terms of power and marriage. In traditional Chinese society, men were thought to be the one to continue on with the family line. For this reason, men had a higher status than women in both family and society, as they were the powerful ones who could lead and organize the whole family, even to sustain the continuity of the family (Lan, Peng, Mei 126 ) For women, they were only being characterized as assisting men in traditional family; they had relatively low social status by then. The saying A woman lacking in talent and learning is virtuous shows the difference between men and women, which womens role would only be a stay-home mother who takes care of the rest and breed. Inheritance of the family line is the most important Under the influence of patriarchy, another reason for having marriage is to give birth to the next generation, as the major role of women back then. In order to successfully give birth to a boy, men would get married with more than one wife, which were allowed in the traditional society. It was not being seen as problematic because having children and sustaining a family was vital for all in the old times. In the other hand, this also shows the low status of women in traditional Chinese society. The seven reasons for divorce can best illustrate the phenomenon. The seven reasons is a list of behaviors for which a man would be justified in divorcing his wife. The most concerned one criterion in relation to the continuity of family would be the third one a woman could be divorced if she did not bear a child. People see family as the most important element in society. Although womens social status was relatively low, they had played an important role in giving birth to children. This was also their mainly function in a marriage life. That is why if a woman is incapable of carrying a child, the meaning to the marriage to her husband would be gone. So men could use such reason to marry another wife or divorce the wife who couldnt give birth to a child. Conclusion Lots of Chinese traditional culture and values are found in the culture of Chinese marriage. For traditional Chinese marriage, the benefits of families were always more important than individuals. The traditional Chinese marriage was pre-arranged between parents of two families. And traditional Chinese marriage involves lots of complex procedures. Among them, they shows the great emphasis on rites (Li) in Chinese traditional culture and among the rites and the rules, we could easily observe one of the most important virtues filial piety. Children should always respect parents and ancestors. Traditional Chinese people also emphasis on maintain harmony with the nature, they believed that human and nature were united, that is why the new couples have to bow to the Heaven and Earth first during the Three Bows. In Patriarchal society, male are superior to female and the inheritance of the family line is significantly important. To do so, male can get married with multiple wives and divorc e any wife that couldnt give birth to child. (Word Count:2020)

Performance of Goldman Sachs and Financial Ratio Analysis

Performance of Goldman Sachs and Financial Ratio Analysis Conventionally the Bank performance is evaluated by analysis of the financial ratios. However, despite of quite a few number of ratios being calculated, a sculpt that completely convinces the analysis of requirements and bank operations efficiency evaluation is yet to be developed. Hence for these reason, the financial ratio analysis is balance with unlike eminence evaluations, with characteristics such as organization quality, equity structure, spirited position and others which are incorporated in the concluding assessment. In this piece of work we are going to evaluate overall performance of Goldman Sachs and critically analyse how financial ratios are used to evaluate banks performance. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a American investment banking and securities organisation which slot in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and erstwhile financial services principally with institutional clients. Goldman Sachs was founded in the year 1869 and its headquarter is at 200 West Street in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City. It has additional offices in major international financial hubs. The Goldman Sachs offers mergers and acquisitions advice, underwriting services, asset management, and prime brokerage to its clientele, which include corporations, governments and individuals. The Goldman Sachs also engages in proprietary trading and private equity deals, and is a primary dealer in the United States Treasury security market (Goldman Sachs Website). Bank Internal Performance Evaluation Strategic planning Goldman Sachs ability to address and tap into important economic and financial trends through roles such as advisor, financier, market maker and asset manager are critical for fulfilling their mission to help spur growth and perform strongly as a firm. Technology Technology is a core part of GS product offering and client experience. GS ability to respond quickly and effectively to address its clients needs with customized systems, products and services helps differentiate the firm. A technological advantage for GS is that they have only one central risk system, which is partially a byproduct of not having done multiple, major acquisitions that often require merging and retrofitting platforms. Personnel development The success of the GSs efforts are measured by how effectively their people act. Over time, effective training and development have enrich their corporate culture and strengthen the values of client service and focus on reputational risk management. Recognition includes compensation, promotion, assignments and mobility opportunities. They have made it clear the link between the behaviour expected of its people and the recognition used to encourage it. This is critically important because it signals broadly the way GS expects its people to behave and conduct business (Goldman Sachs Annual report 2010). Bank External Performance Evaluation Market share GS has frequently performed above the market despite worsening economic conditions. Since the 2008, the company has outpaced the market enough to draw public admiration. With strong profits and expected strong returns, the company has set aside $500M to invest in small businesses. These efforts are a combination to both improve the economy and their public image. Regulatory compliance The Dodd-Frank legislation and new capital and liquidity requirements under Basel 3 are two of the more significant outcomes from the recent focus on enhancing financial stability. Given regulatory implementation is only just beginning, and unclear on how the new rules will ultimately impact the industry. The broad contours of new regulation, however, are clear: improve the safety and soundness of the global financial system, increase the transparency of derivatives markets, limit certain investing activities and reduce the consequences of a failure of a large financial institution. Public confidence Goldman Sachs announced in May 2010 that it formed a Business Standards Committee to reshape its business practices and mend its reputation. Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein said at the time that there is a disconnect between how we view the firm and how the broader public perceives our roles and activities. GSs shareholders, BoDs, clients and customers have supported Mr. Blankfein through all the crisis and this shows their faith in bank (Goldman Sachs Annual report 2010). 4.0 Analyzing Bank Performance with Profit Ratios Goldman Sachs financial performance was better in 2009  than 2010 and Q4 2009 was the best quarter since the recession. 4.1 ROE Return on equity (ROE= net income after taxes/total equity) reveal GS capability to produce profits from shareholders equity (further referred as net assets or assets minus liabilities). In other words, ROE shows how effectively a company uses the shareholders money. As seen in graphical representation above, it is clear that Goldman Sachs is tendering a lower return on shareholders equity as compared to year ended in2009. The ROE of GS for the last year was 18.93% as compared to 10.08% this year. There has a been a significant decrease in the ROE which suggests GS is not utilising shareholders money properly. GS return on equity has declined substantially due to deleverage and is only marginally higher than its current cost of capital. 4.2 ROA Return on assets (ROA = net income after taxes/total assets) is how resourcefully a firm uses its assets. From the formula it is quite obvious that higher the ratio, the company is performing more efficiently and thus is generating more profits. A low ROA with enormous assets designate that the firm is handling its asset at a poor rate. As seen in graphical representation above, it is seen that Goldman Sachs has provided a lower ROA of 0.91% this year over 1.58% last year. There is one key differentiation between ROE and ROA and it is debt. In absence of debt, the shareholders equity is same as total assets of the firm which means that in this case, ROE and ROA are identical. Now if the firm come to a decision to take a loan, ROE exceeds ROA. A elevated ROE does not always guarantee a extraordinary performance of a firm. Incidentally, ROA is then a healthier pointer of the financial performance of a firm. With a high ROA and manageable debt, if ROE is also high it means that the company is generating decent profits using shareholders money. But if ROA is low and there is huge debt carried by the company, even a high ROE can only be a misleading figure. 4.3 Net Interest Margin 4.4 Leverage ratio Debt to Equity Ratio 4.5 Decomposition of ROE DuPont Analysis As revealed in Appendix B, The ROE of a bank is dependent on a various factors and thus change in any one of these factor can affect the rate of return on shareholders equity of the bank. As Net Income is the main source to calculate ROE in conjunction with the shareholders equity in the bank, every alteration in the Income and Expense of the bank openly affects the net income and thus influence the ROE of a bank. The detailed DuPont analysis of Goldman Sachs for year 2010 is presented in Appendix B. The ROE is decomposed as follows wrt dupont identity. Now assuming that changes are made in Income or Expense levels of the Goldman Sachs, its effect will be seen on ROA and ROE. Let us consider a case where the Interest Expense for Goldman Sachs goes down by 10% and there are no changes in its Interest Income, following are the effects on ROA and ROE of the bank. Scenario 1 : -5% change in interest expense Change Values after change Interest Expense -10% 6125.4 Interest Income 0% 12309 Effect on NI 6680.6 39841.6 Effect on ROA +0.07% 0.99% Effect on ROE +0.88% 11.68% A few other situations with amendment in Total Non-interest Income and expenses and their outcome on the ROA ROE of bank are given away in the chart below. Scenario 2 : -5% change in non-interest expense Change Values after change Total Non-interest Income -5% 31975.1 Effect on NI -1682.9 37478.1 Effect on ROA -0.19% 0.73% Effect on ROE -1.46% 8.62% Scenario 3 : +10% change in non-interest expense Change Values after change Total Non-interest Expenses 10% 27962 Effect on NI -2542 3160 Effect on ROA -0.31% 0.27% Effect on ROE -4.44% 3.78% Bank Performance Evaluation Based on Economic Profit 5.1 Risk-Adjusted Return on Capital (RAROC) In risk- adjusted return on capital the capital is allocated for two vital motives: (1) risk management and (2) performance evaluation. In support of risk-management rationale, the banks most favourable capital structure can be establish by allocation of capital to individual business units. This course of action entails assessing the amount of the risk (volatility) each business unit chip in to the total risk of the bank and hence to its overall capital requirements. Now, for performance-evaluation function, RAROC structure allocate capital to business units as part of a procedure for shaping the risk-adjusted rate of return and, eventually, the economic value added of each business unit. The EVA of every and each business unit is its adjusted net income minus the amount of equity capital allocated to the unit times the required return on equity. The purpose is to compute a business units input to shareholder value and so to provide a source for effective capital budgeting and incentive compensation at the business-unit level. RAROC is calculated by dividing risk-adjusted net income by the total amount of economic capital assigned which is dependent on the risk calculation. Risk-adjusted net income is calculated by taking the financial data allotment to the bank and fine-tuning the income statement for expected loss. A further modification is also required to take into account the effects on the net interest margin because the attention is moved from book profitability to economic profitability. Thus RAROC = Risk adjusted income / Allocated Capital RAROC for 2010 of Goldman Sachs therefore comes to 2.24 %. Let us consider some scenarios where the risk adjusted income for Goldman Sachs are changed by {-2%, +2%, -5% +5%}, The effect on its RAROC is represented as below. Change in Risk Adjusted Income 2 % + 2 % 5 % Effect on RAROC 2.20 % 2.29 % 2.13 % Economic Value Added (EVA) EVA (Economic Valued Added) is a present day financial dimension instrument which concludes whether a business is earning greater than its true cost of capital. EVA stands out apart from ROA ROE which are most accepted measures of bank performance. This is because it includes cost of equity capital employed. On the other hand, net banking income and the efficiency ratio, also, do not consider the cost of equity capital employed. Therefore, these ratios possibly will propose a banks performance as healthy but in fact it could be deteriorating its value to its shareholders. EVA is essentially a tool that focuses on maximizing shareholder wealth. EVA = Adjusted earnings Opportunity cost of capital {Net operating Profit after Taxes} {Cost of Equity X Equity Capital } With an aim of creating values, the return on invested capital (ROIC) for a bank must be greater than cost of capital. So, the EVA can be possibly increased in quite a few ways, by: 1) Increasing Net operating Profit after Taxes; 2) Lowering the Cost of Equity and 3) Reducing Equity Capital Conclusion Year on year Goldman Sachs revenues have descended by 11.04% from $51.67bn to $45.97bn. This along with an increase in the cost of goods sold expense has contributed to a reduction in net income from $13.39bn to $8.35bn, a 37.59% decrease. In 2010, Goldman Sachs did not generate a significant amount of cash. Cash Flow from Financing totalled $7.84bn or 17.05% of revenues. In addition the company used 6.16bn for operations while cash used for investing totalled $185m. Goldman results were also dragged down by a $465 million one-time expense to cover a U.K. payroll tax and a $550 million outlay to settle  SEC  charges that it favoured certain clients over others.

Brave New World Introduction Essay -- essays research papers fc

BRAVE NEW WORLD Introduction This novel was written by Aldous Huxley in 1932. It is a fable about a world state in the 7th century A.F. (after Ford), where social stability is based on a scientific caste system. Human beings, graded from highest intellectuals to lowest manual workers, hatched from incubators and brought up in communal nurseries, learn by methodical conditioning to accept they social destiny. The action of the story develops round Bernard Marx, and an unorthodox and therefore unhappy alpha- plus ( something had presumably gone wrong with his antenatal treatment), who vivits a new Mexican Reservetion and brings a savage back to London. The savage is at first fascinated by the New World, but finally revolted, and his argument with Mustafa Mond, world controller, demonstrate the incompability of individual freedom and a scientifically trouble- free society. In Brave New World Revisted 1958, Huxley reconsiders his prophecies and fears that some of this might be coming true much sooner than he thought. In Brave New World, he turned to the apologue. It was a descion that has profound consequences upon his novels and upon his critical reputation. In a 1961 interview Huxley explained his conception of Brave New World. "The new forces of technology , pharmaceutics, and social conditioning can iron modern humans into a kind of uniformity, if you were able to manipulate their genetic background. if you had a government unscrupulous enough you could do these things without any doubt.we are getting more and more into a position where these things can be achieved. And it is extremely important to realize this, and to take every possible precaution to see they shall be not achieved". One of the novel ´s chief rethorical strategies is to make all readers recognize what so few characters can comprehend : that preserving freedom and diversity is necessary to avoid suffering the repressions fostered by shallow ideas of progress. Huxley makes his ironic stance clear from the beginning by contrasting the book ´s title with the action of his first scene : counterpoint to the novel ´s opening at the central London Hatchering and Conditioning Center, a factory that creates on a conveyor belt the citizens for the Brave New World. BNW is one more memorable and successful for its overall portrayal of a society that for its delination of plot or psy... ...rminated by the State. The individuality of BNW is systematically stifled. A government bureau, the Predestinators, decides a prospective citizen ´s role in the hierarchy. Children are raised and conditioned by the state bureaucracy, not brought up by natural families. Respect belongs only to society as a whole. Citizens must not fall in love, marry or have their own kids. The individual ´s loyalty is owed to the state alone. BNW, then is centered around control and manipulation. Conclusion Those fears where the expectations of Aldous Huxley for a not too far future. His predictions got close of what is doing today science, clones... Those are predictions that are getting fulfilled as prophecies and we should warned all this, because who knows if one day some of us become Alphas and others Betas and so on... Bibliography: GRAN LAROUSE UNIVERSAL Barcelona.Ed. Plaza & Janà ©s,1992 Concise Companion to English Literature. Edited by Drabble and Jenny Stringer Revised Edition.Oxford University Press. New York, 1986 BAKER,PH. EMERSON,G., Et Al. Concise Companion of English Literature Biography. Modern Writers, 1914-1945. Vol. 6. Gale Research Inc. Detroit,MI.

The Minamata Disease as an Example of Government Weakness Essay

The Minamata Disease as an Example of Government Weakness The effects of Minamata disease, which originated in Minamata, Japan, first came to the attention of local fishermen. They referred to cats afflicted with the disease as â€Å"the suicide-prone group of dancing cats† due to their tendency to ‘dance’ around, and then jump into the nearby bay (Ui, 1992). From 1940 through the late 20th century, thousands of inhabitants of Minamata developed that same neurological disease that resulted from heavy industrial pollution of Minamata Bay. They did not receive adequate government protection against such a disaster because of the city’s poor economic structure and the relentless national drive to industrialize Japan. One company, Nippon Chisso Ltd. or Chisso for short, which worked extensively with chemicals in the production of energy and of industrial materials, comprised the local economy. Before it became a center for the Japanese chemical industry, Minamata generated revenue almost entirely from salt production enterprises. In 1908, the Japanese government had recently decided to take over the salt industry and the village needed new sources of income. At the same time Jun Noguchi, a recently graduated electrical engineer and founder of the Chisso Company, needed a location to build a new carbide production plant. Minamata won the bid for the factory’s location through a favorable deal to Noguchi, in which the local government offered the old salt industry’s land at very low prices. The city also provided a route for electricity to reach the factory at no charge (Ui, 1992). These offers established the policy of the government, and indeed of Minamata as a whole, to defer to the Chisso Company’s wishes to ... .... Measures to avoid a situation of that nature must focus on the enactment of effective policy by both local and national governments to regulate their industries, and focus on having an adequate number of revenue-generating industries so as not to jeopardize public interests. References Ui, J. (1992). Industrial Pollution in Japan. Tokyo: United Nation University Press Harada, M. (n.d.). Minamata disease and the Mercury Pollution of the Globe. Retrieved February 19, 2003, from http://www.einap.org/envdis/Minamata.html#name. Littlefield, A. (1996). Minamata Bay Pollution in Japan and Health Impacts. Retrieved February 19, 2003, from http://www.american.edu/TED/MINAMATA.HTM. Ziegler, J. (1995). Rays of Hope in the Land of the Rising Sun [Electronic version]. Environmental Health Perspectives, 103(5), (n.p.).

To Be of Use

According to Confucius, â€Å"You should treat others the way you want to be treated. † Resembling Confucius’ golden rule, Harold Kushner’s â€Å"Shalom: The Quest for Integrity† talks about a man who did something good, when people didn’t think he would. While Marge Piercy isn’t writing about treating others a certain way, she is instead writing about being of good use. Harold Kushner’s text parallels Marge Piercy’s poem in the topic of being of good use. Due to the length of the poem, she talks about people being of use. Harold Kushner’s text talks about people who were useful.On Monday night December 11, 1995, the fire at the textile mill changed a city. Many people of Lawrence, Massachusetts, were worried about the economic impact from losing the textile mill due to the fire. However, the owner Aaron Feuerstein surprised everyone. People expected he would take advantage of the fire to move to a more profitable locatio n. Feuerstein announced that not only was he going to rebuild the factory, but also workers would receive three months of payroll, even though there was no work. â€Å"Feuerstein is a special person, a man of integrity†, are there few people with integrity?Maybe is the reason Blanchard co-author the book called The Power of Ethical Management, â€Å"there’s no right way to do a wrong thing,† using the book as a plea to the business world. Directed to the people who do things to benefit themselves, but hurt others. Confucius states: treat others the way you want to be treated; ask yourself if you do harm to others, would you like it if someone did harm to you in the same way? No because many of us wouldn’t; many don’t think about the consequences, or if it happened to themselves, before they do something. People commit wrong doing, to benefit themselves.When I hear politicians and preachers condemning the sinful ways of society around them, I often agree with their criticisms, but I don’t hear the pain in their voices. † As stated in the text by Kushner, many people lead with falsehood, tricking others to believing that they are useful people of integrity, when in the end they really are not. Marge Piercy’s poem gives her opinion of people who are useful. In the first verse, she has a high regard for people who throw enthusiasm into the work they do. She compares the people who throw enthusiasm into their work, to water buffalo.That people who enjoy their work, with patience, will in the end receive good rewards. Rewards of satisfaction, the results of their hard work, are what they receive in return for tireless hard work. To Piercy, work is as common as mud; work like mud smears the hand. â€Å"But the thing worth doing well done, has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident,† says Piercy in her poem. Piercy’s poem is more of a collection of opinions, the things that make a person useful. W hat she thinks useful people are like. Piercy has high regard for people who give care into their work.In past experience, and previous knowledge, people who work hard are reward, they move up in life. However people who don’t have integrity, who do harm eventually fail from life. Many people, who are successful, love their work; they enjoy what they are doing with enthusiasm. Treating other with respect should gain you respect. Kushner discusses more about people who had integrity, who gave back, when no one expected them to. People who made themselves useful People who try to encourage people to be ethically positive. To change their tactics to help people not harm people. The benefits, and why people did the things they did.Then also the people who are false or true prophets. The people who speak true, but don’t adhere to what they preach. Piercy, on the other had in contrast, expresses her opinion, on the factor of people being of use, having high regard for people who love working, being useful and enjoy their work. That their hard work would reward them. Piercy’s poem contrast’s Kushner’s text, in terms of the directions they go. Kushner is indirectly talking about being of use but on the topic of people with integrity, and ethical standards. Piercy directly relates to the topic of to be use. The opinion of what she thinks people who are useful.

Maori Creation Myth

The foundation of almost every culture in the world has a creation myth explaining how the wonders of the earth came to be. These myths have a powerful influence over the people’s culture, and the way they think about their surroundings. Creation myths usually begin with the theme of birth; birth represents new life and a new beginning. Creation myths develop over the centuries through oral tradition, and are the most common form of myths found throughout human culture (Murtagh). The Maori are the aboriginal tribe that inhabits New Zealand.They are believed to have emigrated from the Polynesian Islands to New Zealand in the 500-year period between 800-1300 CE. Much evidence found suggests that the Maori share many common words with the Polynesian languages along with cultural values. The Maori are one of the most successful groups of aboriginal tribes in terms of surviving colonization. Their cultural traditions have withstood invasion from the European nations. Concerns about the decline in the original Maori language today have led to schools teaching solely in Maori so that the language remains an important part of the culture.The Maori have embraced modern societal structures, which is one of the main reasons they have remained successful. They have formed a major political power in New Zealand, have influenced school studies, and recently have devised their own television network (â€Å"The Maori†). In the beginning of the Maori’s creation myth, there was only darkness, Te Ponui, Te Poroa (the Great Night, the Long Night). In the absence of the empty space, a glow appeared and the moon and the sun sprang forth and the heavens were made light.Rangi (the Sky Father) lived with Papa (the Earth Mother), but as the two lived together, their children lived in darkness. The children could not see, and argued to how night and day might be manifested. Tumatauenga (god of war) encouraged that they kill their parents, but Tane Mahuta (god of the forests) advised that they separate their father Rangi from their mother Papa. Rongo (god of cultivated food) and Tangaroa (god of the sea) tried to separate them, but failed. Tane Mahuta achieved the task of separating his parents, and that was when night distinguished from day.Rangi was heartbroken, and shed an immense quantity of tears, so that the oceans were formed (â€Å"The Maori†). The creation of woman was fashioned from clay by Tane Mahuta. He breathed life into her nostrils, and she became Hine-hauone (‘the Earth-formed Maid’). She bore Tane Mahuta a daughter, Hine-titama (‘the Dawn Maid’) who in time also bore daughters to Tane. Hine-titama was unaware of her father’s identity, and when she found he was the Tane she thought, was her husband, she was overwhelmed with shame. Hine-titama left the world of light, Te Ao, and moved to Te Po, the world below.She became known as Hinenui-te-Po (‘Great Hine the Night’) (â€Å"M aori Mythology†). â€Å"The children of Tane were plentiful, and increased and multiplied, for death held no dominion over them† (â€Å"Maori Mythology†). The creation myth emphasizes the elements of nature such as wind and water. Most of the Maori settlements are near coastal terraces. Fishing is a significant part of the Maori culture, and of their major food sources. When Rangi shed tears due to his separation from Papa, it explained the forming of the oceans.Some of Rangi and Papa’s children decided to turn their mother over so that she and Rangi would not have to see one another’s grief and grieving. The act of rotating the earth is called Te Hurihanga a Mataaho, the overturning of Mataaho. The act is named after the child that had seen the rotation occur. After the rotation, Rangi’s tears are less than before, and are the dew drops that form in the night on Papa’s back (the earth’s surface) (â€Å"Maori†). The Maori have kept most of their cultural traditions alive to this day.A contemporary Maori individual following traditional ways perform certain actions for certain rituals that were used from their ancestors. â€Å"Spiritual entities such as ‘mauri’ are thought to be subject not so much to the laws of science as to the traditional laws that govern ritual† (Patterson). People around the New Zealand region to this day can hear individuals chant these ancient words; according to tradition, these were performed primarily because of the emergence of ‘mauri’ from the chaos of ‘Te Korekore’.The spiritual basis of the Maori is not over and done with to this day in age; they are continuing to be re-enacted from time to time to help continue the Maori traditions flourish. ‘Mauri’ is considered to be a very real and important concept of the tradition of today’s Maori world. The concept of ‘mauri’ is alive to this day with out a doubt. A local newspaper reported an article on a proposal to stop discharging sewage into a local river. A Maori leader expressed to say that the discharge had brought about an imbalance in the ‘mauri’ of the river; and without ‘mauri’, nothing can flourish. Mauri’ is said to not only affect living things, but rivers, mountains, villages, institutions, and even activities and events (Patterson). Studying the Maori philosophy today is difficult for outsiders because the important philosophical ideas that the Maori have do not translate straightforwardly into English. This is part of another culture which expresses ideas that are foreign to the English speaking world. The meaning of ‘mauri’ can take up many meanings; ‘life force’, ‘life principle’, ‘character’, ‘essence’, ‘uniqueness’, ‘quality’, or even ‘value’.Current findings in the scienti fic explanations of the Maori concepts have shown in parts of Western and Eastern China. The idea of ‘mauri’ or life force has made the Maori a sophisticated culture with a powerful environmental philosophy. Their philosophy demands that they treat the natural world with respect, and to acknowledge and care about the being of every creature the earth inhabits; to try to make sure that their interactions with the world leave it to being a better place.The Maori philosophy has the ultimate principle of unity (Patterson). The Maori culture is obviously one that dates back thousands of years ago, and has proven to survive through time to this day of age. Their practices through religion, farming, spirituality, educational upbringing, and language has survived and lived on. The Maori creation myth is quite an interesting tale, and even though it was similar to Babylonian myth, it had its distinct differences.