Various theoretical movements

Like other social scientists, systematically looking for general patterns in human behavior is the main work that anthropologists take on. They also develop theories and use scientific methods to test their research as they struggle to determine their differences and similarities in urban, industrial and cross-cultural societies.Its important feature is always its emphasis on the insider’s view of a society. It aims to provide an understanding of the various cultures as it determines how people of a culture view the world. Thus, discoveries and studies in anthropology ultimately contribute to international harmony and with respect to the beliefs and values each one possess.Theories in AnthropologyVarious theoretical movements have been identified and studied and most of the principles frequently overlap or contradict each other altogether.   Some concentrate on past civilizations while some study on present ones (McGee, 2004).In the book of Thomas Kuhn, several theories were â€Å"stimulated† and were based on a positivist epistemology. Historical Particularism, Culture and Personality, Structuralism and Functionalism as well as many others comprise the broad spectrum of Anthropology.But there are theories as well that alter the premise that dichotomizes the relationship between reality and theory and these are the theories that are influenced by post-modern perspectives such as the theory of Interpretivists and Constructivists. To further breakdown and understand how each school of thought works, defining the main themes and how they differentiate from one another will categorize each movement and its impact, if any, to present studies.Evolutionism in the Nineteenth Century claims that societal groups developed according to one universal order of cultural evolution (McGee, 2004).   Stated simply, the proponents of this theory identified â€Å"universal evolutional stages† and have classified different societies as savage, barbarian civ ilization.They came to this conclusion by studying the data they have collected from traders and missionaries in the study of the various cultures they were interested in.Although most theorists rarely went to the societies they were analyzing, they organized the data they have collected, albeit second-hand data, and applied a general theory to all societies. Thus was born the train of thought placing Western Societies with rather advanced technologies and placing these societies at the highest rank of civilization (Erickson, 2008).The main theme that categorizes this movement is the assumption that human minds share similar characteristics all over the world (Moore, 2004). Does this mean that all people and their societies will go through the same processes of development? It seems so for another underlying assumption is all that belong to Western Societies are superior to other societies in the world.This assumption may be based on the fact these same societies possess the militar y and economic power against technologically simple societies (McGee, 2004). But can this then apply to other aspects of societies, such as kin systems, religion and childrearing customs? There is a logical progression that cannot be denied and this can be observed in the use of simple tools to using complex technology in most Western Societies.However, this train of thought offers a rather simplistic explanation on the development of Western Societies. Generally, it became too racist and during that time, Henry Morgan believed that evolution only moved from early societies to the Western societies.He also argued that intelligence is not a valid point to be raised for all people in various societies have different levels of intelligence and supported as well by Burnett Tylor.This theory was strongly attacked by supporters of the Historical Particularism for they see this theory as too speculative and ethnocentric and at the same time, approaches as too materialistic and the views on the various cultures are influenced by the Marxist Anthropology (McGee, 2004).Historical Particularism’s main point is to focus its research on a specific society, its whole and its own history richly detailing the cultural traits and characteristics into its descriptive technology (Erickson, 2008). Franz Boas primarily led other theorists to support ethnography method instead of the comparative method, stressing the importance of a solid and intensive ground work research.He was considered the Father of American Anthropology because he openly challenged the proponents of the previous theory who he believed are overtly racist in nature and is responsible for influencing a large number of ethnographers who include Kroeber, Lowie, Spier, Wissler, Mead, Radin, Bunzel, Sapir, Benedict, Herskovits, Hoebel and many others like him ( Moore, 2004).The problem however with this theory is that it has very little stimulation resulting in a static view of cultures and did not develop a sense of cultural dynamics and continuities. It however laid the ground work for systematic field work and research.Structuralism is best exemplified by a leading intellectual of the age, published extensively his writings and revolved his theory around the basic question, â€Å"what are the human patterns of thought that bring order to the world?† bringing to the forefront the other question, â€Å"how does man deal with chaos?†Levi-Strauss’ stressed the main points of this theory that the mind takes varied and potentially chaotic experiences to attempt to logically structure this experiences in binary configurations, and incorporating these with dominant images and symbols we come across in the world (McGee, 2004). Levi-Strauss believed that these configurations is an unconscious process devoid of being developed and articulated but instead deeply rooted from the structures of the mind.He argued that since all people of all cultures utilize binary principles t o organize and structure the experiences they encounter daily, the manner of comprehending the meaning to any quality must logically have an antithesis or opposite. This explains the rise of various symbols in human societies that run through symbolic polarities like right-left, moon-sun, female-male, life-death, and good-evil.The major contribution of this theory is the logical study of myth and thinking where knowledge communicate a significant message about how things are organized and specifically mediate or lessens experiential contradictions (order to chaos) and introducing an anomalous element – virgin mothers, garden of eden ( Evolutionism, 2008).This theory used a non empirical approach in its methods where most positivists ague and they believed that the structures of thinking should be based on binary principles. They also believed that all forms of thinking are logical and not less significant and the tools are just the things that differ at the way one processes the information around him.

Is the Catcher in the Rye Should Be Banned

Is the Catcher in the Rye should be banned? According to Sova B Dawn, â€Å"The novel has long ignited disapproval, and it was the most frequently banned book in schools between 1966 and 1975. Even before that time, however, the work was a favorite target of sensors. † (Dawn) Whitfield also documents that â€Å"In 1973 the American School Board Journal called The Catcher in the Rye the most widely censored book in the United States. † (Whitfield) Why people, especially parents, eager to place the Catcher in the Rye, the classic story of a teenager quest for maturity in the banned book list? â€Å"In late 1980, Mark David Chapman stuck a copy of J. D. Salinger's book in his pocket as he stalked and then murdered John Lennon. Before the New York police arrived, the assassin began re-reading the novel to himself. † Whitfield documents the negative influence the Catcher in the Rye has, â€Å"John Hinckley, who said ‘if you want my defense all you have to do is read Catcher in the Rye. It seemed to be time to read it again. ’† (Whitfield)Both of these men claimed that their defense could be found within the pages of Salinger’s novel. People may wonder why the book has the odd connection with criminal loners. Maybe because they found themselves are so familiar with what happened to Holden Caulfield? Most people counts these crimes as a result of publishing the novel, however, if the book doesn’t exist at all, these two people would still be involved in crimes. In other words, it is not the book that boosts them to shoot people. It is themselves that did so. Obviously, another reason is the book â€Å"included considerable profanity and ‘filthy and profane’ language. † (Dawn) Some parents prohibited their children to read the novel even without reading it themselves. They just flip a few pages and the offending words can be easily found so that they immediately make a judgment that this book is not suitable for children to learn. But the question is, is that really true? If a work contains â€Å"dirty† words is it mean it’s immoral? To answer the question, we have to define the word â€Å"morality†. The definition of morality varies from different people depending on their social position, their careers and their growing path and so on. We should not listen to those who yelling the loudest unconditionally, instead we should choose to listen to our own hearts, to make our own decisions, to find the mature definition. We can take a serious look into Holden Caulfield that whether he sets a bad example to teenagers or not. For this problem, Edwards has her view that the Holden’s suggestive immorality doesn’t influence the readers negatively. On the contrary, it is Holden’s many good qualities that actually influence the readers positively. Edwards then uses five different moral ideas—Unto the Least of These, Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother, Blessed are the Pure, Woe to You, Hypocrites, Suffer the Little Children— to show the relationship between Holden Caulfield and Bible in her article in order to prove the protagonist is not â€Å"guilty† for his actions. The main idea Edwards uses is Holden’s relationship with his family. No one could probably love his family more than Holden does. He admires his older brother, D. B’s skill and work as a writer in Hollywood. And for Allie, Holden’s little brother, died for leukemia about two years ago, Holden described him as â€Å"terrifically intelligent† and â€Å"the most intelligent member in the family. He was also the nicest. † (Salinger 38) When Holden knew about his younger brother’s death, he broke all the windows with his bare fists. He mentioned that his hand still hurts once in a while, which may refer his special feelings for Allie, will not disappear as the time passed by. Another indispensable character is Holden’s ten-year-old sister, Phoebe. â€Å"You should see her. You never saw a little kid so pretty and smart in your whole life. She's really smart. I mean she's had all A's ever since she started school. † (Salinger) One can easily see Holden’s care and love for Phoebe. The leading character of Catcher in the Rye is absolutely not against the family value which society take a really consideration for one to be moral. It is exactly his love for Phoebe, his love for family that keeps him stay rather than escaping to â€Å"somewhere out west where it was very pretty and sunny and where nobody’d know me. † (Salinger 198) Holden’s empathy for other people serves as another reason that this novel is about morality. â€Å"One of the most endearing qualities of the teenage protagonist is his empathy for other people, especially those whom others reject. † (Edwards) Ackley, for example, everyone hates him. He has â€Å"sinus trouble, pimples, lousy teeth, halitosis, crumby fingernails. like June Edwards concluded from the novel. (Edwards) But, says Holden, â€Å"You had to feel a little sorry for the crazy sonuvabitch. † (Salinger) Holden is the only one who does. Though Ackley irritates him, he never turns him away. What’s more, he even invited Ackley to see a movie with him and another boy because he knew he has no friends at all and no one else would hangs out with him. The concern about other people Holden showed doesn’t come very often in the surroundings at his age, which proves that the Catcher in the Rye’s morality. Holden Caulfield claims himself hates people who behave one way in public and another way in private. â€Å"Except if some boy had little old funny-looking parents†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ if a boy's mother was sort of fat and corny-looking†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ then old Haas would just shake hands with them and give them a phony smile and then he'd go talk, maybe for half an hour with someone else's parents. † (Salinger) One of the most important qualities about morality is against hypocrites. Being genuine and honesty towards others is what Holden believes in and he actually did accomplish it. What’s more, after Holden leaves Pency Prep, he made his way to New York City. Afraid of going home to tell his parents the truth that he was expelled from school, again, and let them disappointed, he decided to go to a hotel. Holden said yes to a pimp who persuades him to have a good time in the elevator. However, he found himself â€Å"uncomfortable† when the prostitute approaches him. His inability to a sexual activity indicates the characteristic he has— innocence, which he also wants to protect children from losing. The title â€Å"Catcher in the Rye† reveals the protagonist’s willingness to become the Catcher. Aside of his own innocence, Holden would like to â€Å"catch† other children’ innocence. When Holden comes home without telling his parents just to see Phoebe, he tells her that what he would like to become more than anything else in the world is a Catcher in the Rye. â€Å"Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. (Salinger 173) The innocence and simplicity of children holds an especial appeal for Holden as well. For instance, toward the end of the book, Holden's frantic desire to erase all the â€Å"Fuck you† s scrawled throughout the city and around the world is related to Holden's fear of becoming an adult, his disgust with the vulgarity of the real world, and his need to protect the innocence of those younger than him, just like his sister. One cares so much about protecting others from falling to the â€Å"cliff† must be a genuine  and virtuous person. In conclusion, it can be argued that the Catcher in the Rye is a moral book and should not be banned. Though we’ve reached an agreement that problematic words, sentences do exist, we need to learn to look beyond them because we know the intention of Holden is good. Judge a book’s quality and education meaning is not depending on whether it has blasphemous words or not. Actions, not words, reveal a person’s attitude and intention. What truly inside the bad words is a sense of being lost; we can witness a teenager’s struggle and search for finding his value in society. The word he uses is a typical insecure young man’s protection shell during adolescence, which we should be able to understand.

A comparison if the influence of the past and the present in Snow Falling on Cedars and Chocolat.

A comparison if the influence of the past and the present in Snow Falling on Cedars and Chocolat. Joanne Harris’ novel Chocolat and Scott Hicks’ film Snow Falling on Cedars use characters and their interactions to explore the influence of the past on the present. Both texts reveal the influence of past relationships on their major female and male characters’ present lives. Where Harris’ focus is family relationships, Hicks also explores the impact of a past romantic relationship. Using a dual first-person narrative, Harris relies on the reminiscences of her central characters to convey the connection between past and present, whereas Hicks employs a non-linear structure of flashbacks interspersed with the present to make this link. Both texts use the impact of racism on its victims to reveal that not only individuals live in the shadow of the past, but also the entire community. Both Chocolat and Snow Falling on Cedars depict how a childhood father figure shapes the lifestyle of their main male character. Harris’ dual first-person narrative voice allows the reader access to antagonist Reynaud’s thoughts and memories as he speaks to Mon Pere, who was once his childhood mentor; whereas Hicks juxtaposes flashbacks from several characters’ perspectives with the present to reveal how the past shaped protagonist Ishmael’s (Ethan Hawke) life. One such flashback reveals that as a child Ishmael learned to use the newspaper press, his father commenting that he would â€Å"make a newspaper man out of (him) yet†. This is coupled with the present, where he is reporting on the trial of the Japanese-American Kazuo for murder, fulfilling his father’s wish. Like Ishmael, Reynaud’s father figure determined his career. Reynaud comments that as a child he â€Å"compromised (his) soul† for the priest, who persuaded him to s et the gypsy boats alight, and as a result he caused the death of two â€Å"sleepers† who â€Å"failed to waken†. However, he was â€Å"absolved† by Mon Pere and set firmly on the course of becoming a priest later in life. He now attempts to live up to Mon Pere’s example in his â€Å"crusade† against the recently arrived gypsies. Unlike Mon Pere’s influence on Reynaud, Ishmael’s father instilled in him strong opposition to racism. A montage sequence shows Ishmael’s attempt to write an article about the â€Å"unfair† trial, interspersed with close-ups of his father’s glasses, the evidence that can save Kazuo, and a photo of Hatsue (Youki Kudoh), his first love. This interaction between past and present reveals the decision Ishmael faces between presenting evidence to save Hatsue’s husband, Kazuo (Rick Yune) from conviction, as his father would have done, or to indulge his personal desire to withhold it out o f anger with Hatsue, who broke his heart. Near the end of the film, Ishmael decides to put the evidence forward. While in Chocolat Reynaud’s present is negatively affected by the influence of Mon Pere’s past racism, in Snow Falling on Cedars, Ishmael’s father shaped his morals, which positively affects his present. As well as their careers and personal beliefs, Reynaud and Ishmael’s insecurities and fears stem from their father figures. Through his monologue, Reynaud reveals that as a child, he caught his mother engaging in a sin â€Å"of the flesh† with the priest. His shock that Mon Pere was even â€Å"capable of sin† made him realise that â€Å"nothing was safe† and created his desperate fear of temptation. His attempts to realise his idealistic view of priesthood and resist temptation where Mon Pere could not, control Reynaud’s lifestyle. Harris uses vivid imagery in Reynuad’s dream of dying â€Å"beneath (chocolate’s) tender gluttony,† a â€Å"cumulation of every temptation ever known,† to reveal his fear of slipping further towards temptation, despite his increasing self-denial during Lent. In contrast, Hicks reveals through dialogue that unlike Reynaud’s attempts to transcend his forerunner, Ishmael’s life is sh aped by his insecurity that he is â€Å"only half the man his father was.† However, Ishmael ultimately lives up to his father’s example and overcomes his sense of injury, the war and his anger at Hatsue, to save Kazuo and move on with his life. Nels’ (Max Von Sydow) comment, that Ishmael is â€Å"sounding just a little like (his) father†, confirms this success. Harris, in contrast, reveals that Reynaud’s desperate attempts to â€Å"weed† out the metaphorical â€Å"dandelions†, which represent the temptation of â€Å"La Cleste Praline Chocolaterie Artisanale† and the indulgent gypsy lifestyle, lead to his destruction. He becomes delirious, imagining Denise Arnauld â€Å"eating in the confessional†, and is flooded with â€Å"irrational thoughts† of â€Å"devil worship† when he sees the flames of Vianne’s â€Å"flambed pancakes† at the gypsy campsite. Ultimately, his fear that the temptation of c hocolate and indulgence will â€Å"undermine the church† drives him to attempt to destroy Vianne’s chocolate festival, leading to his own downfall. Harris uses reminiscences within Vianne’s narration, and Hicks uses flashbacks juxtaposed with the present, to explore the impact a past relationship has on the present of their protagonists. A close-up of protagonist Ishmael watching Hatsue through a symbolic barrier of balcony bars during the opening of the trial, coupled with their first conversation where Hatsue commands him to â€Å"go away†, introduces their estranged relationship. Flashbacks reveal the illicit nature of Hatsue and Ishmael’s past romance, as Ishmael comments that Hatsue’s â€Å"friends would† find their relationship inappropriate. Their fear of being caught is reflected in the dimly lit, secretive setting of the cedar tree. Hicks combines a voice-over of Hatsue reading a letter, in which she reveals her understanding that she and Ishmael â€Å"could never be right together†, with swelling non-digetic music and a final close-up of Ishmael’s amputated arm. This rev eals that the strain of societal disapproval caused Ishmael and Hatsue’s relationship to fall apart, with Ishmael’s physical injury symbolising the long-term damage created for him by the failure of the relationship. Hicks reveals that Ishmael still resents Hatsue’s choice to end their relationship when Ishmael’s voice breaks as he suggests that he should â€Å"write an article about unfairness and all the unfair things that people do to each other†. Whilst Hicks combines soundtrack and images, Harris uses the metaphorical image of the â€Å"Black Man†, a figure that embodies Vianne’s mother’s greatest fear: losing her child to the church authorities, to reveal that Vianne’s relationship with her mother was strained by the constant presence of this fear. This negatively affects the adult Vianne. She too fears the loss of her daughter Anouk, despite her understanding that â€Å"children are born wild† and must go t heir own way. She also continues to feel the presence of â€Å"the black man† even after her mother’s death; in Lansquenet her â€Å"black man† is the antagonist Reynaud. The present of both protagonists is negatively affected by their past until Vianne can overcome her fear of the â€Å"Black Man†, and Ishmael can overcome his resentment and save Kazuo, Hatsue’s husband, from conviction. Ishmael’s escape from the influence of the past is symbolised by his and Hatsue’s final embrace, as earlier in the film he begged to â€Å"hold† her â€Å"for a few seconds† so he could â€Å"walk away and never speak to her again†. Harris also symbolically reveals Vianne’s ability to overcome the negative influence of her mother, when Vianne chooses to burn the tarot card of â€Å"the black man† which dictated her mother’s life. Following this is the revelation that Reynaud is â€Å"a fool to himself, a carnival mask†, which allows her to let go of her fear of â€Å"the black man†, the strongest negative legacy from her mother. Thus, both Harris and Hicks use their protagonists to pr esent the human ability to overcome the emotional baggage of past relationships. The life choices of both Vianne and Hatsue, are influenced by their childhood relationships with their mothers. Harris uses â€Å"the wind song† motif â€Å"V’l l’bon vent, v’l l’joli vent†, and the pull â€Å"the moving hot wind† has for Vianne, to reveal that Vianne’s childhood â€Å"chase around Europe† left her with an inability to settle down. Her childhood also created Vianne’s interest in cooking; she refers to recipes as â€Å"signposts along (her) erratic path†. This determined her choice to run a chocolate shop, the foundation of her present lifestyle. As Vianne’s childhood directly shaped her present lifestyle, so Hatsue’s childhood governed her marriage and relationship decisions. Instead of Harris’ abstract imagery, Hicks cuts from the realistic romantic close-up of Hatsue and Ishmael together in the cedar tree, to a dialogue Hatsue has with her mother, to reveal that Hatsu e’s mother taught her â€Å"to be Japanese†, to â€Å"stay away from white boys† and â€Å"marry one of (her) own kind.† This conveys the environment in which Hatsue grew up, where racial segregation between Japanese and Anglo-Americans was accepted. Hicks portrays this segregation using a mid-shot of the school bus, where Japanese and Anglo children sit on opposite sides of the aisle. Hatsue’s understanding that her relationship with Ishmael was â€Å"wrong† for the society in which they live, and her choice to instead marry the Japanese-American Kazuo, reflects her mother’s influence and Hatsue’s recognition of this segregation. Through the influence of past racism on the victims’ present, both texts suggest that it is not only individuals who are affected by the past, but the wider community. Harris uses the minor character, Roux, to explore racial prejudices and society’s reaction to the gypsies, while Hicks uses the community’s response to minor character Kazuo’s trial to convey racial tension. Within his narrative, Reynaud recalls that as a boy he committed arson and drove the gypsies out of the village, revealing past prejudice in Lansquenet. In contrast, Hicks uses flashbacks of Hatsue’s family to reveal that thousands of Japanese were sent to prison camps as internal enemies during the Second World War. This is the basis of Kazuo’s fear that he â€Å"would be made the victim of prejudice†, which leads to his attempt to conceal evidence of his presence on Karl’s boat by removing his spare battery, ironically making himself look more guilty. Unlike the images used by Hicks, Harris relies on dialogue to reveal Roux’s fear of being victimised when he thinks he has accidentally â€Å"killed† Armande. In his panic Roux angrily tells Vianne that people â€Å"will say (he) attacked† Armande and he is afraid to go â€Å"back there†. Minor character Jolie’s wonder at â€Å"what he was doing here to reveal that there is foundation for his fear. In Snow Falling on Cedars, racism also remains. It surfaces during the crisis of the court case, where Karl’s wife comments that â€Å"you can’t read Japs†, and Kazuo’s lawyer, Nels, comments that the â€Å"prosecutor† used racism against Kazuo when he suggested that the jury â€Å"look at his face†¦ assuming (they) would see an enemy there†. Both texts reveal that the victims of past racism are affected in the present through their fear that they will again be victimised, a conviction furthered by the continued presence of racism in their society. While both authors reveal that old insecurities, resentments and fears, often drive the actions of individuals and the wider community, they imply that this negative influence on the present must be overcome. Harris reveals that Vianne cannot grow as a person until she overcomes her fear of â€Å"the black man† which stems from her childhood. Hicks reveals that Ishmael must overcome his resentment of Hatsue, so that he can save Kazuo from conviction. This allows him to overcome his sense of moral inferiority to his father and grow as an individual. In Chocolat, Reynaud serves to show the danger of never overcoming the past, which leads to his destruction, as he escapes his town Lansquenet in disguise, losing his job and purpose. Hicks uses flashbacks to reveal that within the community there is a continuation of racism from the Second World War, while Harris relies on reminiscence within Raynaud’s narration to reveal that this racism stems from the stereotypical view of gypsies as â€Å"vermin†. In both texts, minor characters are used to highlight the danger of the communities’ inability to overcome racist ideas, which, in conjunction with the struggle of individual characters with the past, compounds the authors’ message that individual and communal growth can only be achieved by overcoming the past’s destructive influence.

Global diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Global diversity - Essay Example Diversity is becoming popular around the world and as it is increasingly gaining recognition as it influences the outcomes of organizations for example the global knowledge creation as well as increased employee engagement. In addition, it is important for individuals and employees to how to differentiate diversity socially, politically and legally. Moreover, employees should be able to manage multicultural teams, develop cultural competencies, and ensure smooth operations across global employees. Employees should be involved in global development that encourages cross cultural awareness as well as training. The advantages of diversity include, people from different backgrounds coming together to bring their unique cultural experiences and share in providing broader perspectives for a better ultimate resolution. In addition, there is increased creativity and an improvement in the overall in the performance of a diverse workforce. It also brings about broader coverage where employees from different backgrounds that provide organizations with a wider coverage in the global marketplace. Populating the workforce aids in effective interaction with customers from different cultures. However, there is a disadvantage in communication where employees that come from different cultures and speak different languages may find it a challenge to engage in communication. In addition, it is expensive and time consuming to train on building relationships and solving conflicts with colleagues from different cultures.

Blackfish Movie Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Blackfish Movie Review - Essay Example If ignorance is bliss, then not seeing this film is perhaps best for those who wish to preserve their memories of SeaWorld’s orcas as majestic creatures; but if one would prefer to see the reality behind the shadows, there is much to be gained by seeing Blackfish, which is a critical look at SeaWorld’s animal acquisition and caretaking practices. In several ways, the film directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite exemplifies the purpose of investigative journalism: connecting the dots, asking the tough questions, telling a story, and making an impact on society – and, in that sense, deserves to be seen. As a reader of film reviews, I am always looking for advice on which films to see and which films not to see. After all, time and attention is a valuable asset, and no one wants to waste it on a movie that is not worth the time it takes to queue it up. What I look for in a documentary film is not determined by the type of documentary it is – but rather that the film itself has a story. That story may be narrated or it may be told just through the events and happenings of the film but at the end of the day – there must be a story present. The same is true for any piece of investigative journalist because, at the end of the day, an investigation will have a beginning, a middle, and an end: all of which combine to present a narrative to the reader or viewer. Blackfish is a documentary film directed by Gabriela Cowperwaithe, who built the project with Manny O. Productions. The story is about the captivity of Tilikum, which is an orca implicated in the deaths of three individuals – but it attempts to make a broader point about keeping killer whales in captivity. The narrative the film follows is from Tilikum’s capture off the coast of Iceland, to its violent behavior at other sea parks, to its training and performances at SeaWorld. The film was released on January 19, 2013 at the Sundance Film Festival before it was picked up

AIC Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

AIC - Case Study Example In contrast, AIC systems total volume is lower than Taiwanese rivals elite group Company systems, MSI, and ASUS. However, the companies’ relentless effort on the management of costs enables it to scale high as it labels as a competitive source. Consequently, by the year 2000, AIC structures had evolved into original design manufacturer (ODM). Based on ODM, the company took the vigorous role by innovating and developing new generation components. Additionally, the company participated in house design and development work, which advanced its operations to foster more exclusively establishing long-term relationships with its customers across the planet. In the year, 2007, AIC embarked on a new strategy, diversifying its products portfolio with the inclusion of consumer electronics focusing on mobile technology. Based on the development of technology and AIC company advancement, most hardware has become a commodity with mobile technology taking several forms including ultra-portable laptops called netbooks, mobile phone Laden that have variable arrays and traditional laptops(Wheelwright & Yong 2). The assembly line of QuiN design required refinement, and this made initial orders unpredictable. Wheelwright & Yong (4) argue that the development of full-scale production of the QuiN 816 was frantic. Moreover, promotion of QuiN netbook generated significant publicity as it created an unexpected spike in the production demands. This created lumpy orders of the QuiN netbook and later developed the little need and received an unexpected order for numerous thousand units within a short notice. However, the solution needs to focus on getting new assembly line that is operational. Additionally, QuiN 816 needs to review its operations and identify ways of improving the productivity of the existing capacity. Chen focused on assembling line process for QuiN 816 network. Moreover, by working closely with

Book report(Francis Crick Discoverer of the Genetic Code) Essay

Book report(Francis Crick Discoverer of the Genetic Code) - Essay Example A number of renowned writers are being currently commissioned by the Eminent Live series of short biographies to write and arrange the biographies of the famous persons. For this excellent biography of Francis Crick, this has worked considerably well. Francis Crick's significant scientific contributions and importantly his personality are being presented to the readers by this work of Ridley. He expressed that it was quite difficult to discuss about Francis with certainty as he was a bit private person and didn't usually shared his gossips, moods and biases or his detailed daily life in his writing or work. Even then he wasn't an unfriendly introvert, as he always enjoyed the company of his close friends, colleges and practices a healthy social life when he wasn't in the laboratory. But he ignored fashionable attention and icon as crude and excruciating to hold. He usually kept himself isolated as his close circle was limited to those intellectual personalities the company of whom he perceived as vital for his own learning. This behavior was quite consistent over his entire life and being referred as "dyadic pairing" by Ridley. Very essentially, this habit enabled him to bounce suggestions from his close companion the opinion and judgment of whom he considered trustable. His immediate reference board was Georg Kreisel and a prominent student Wittgenstein. Jim Watson when in 1950s they explored the detailed arrangement of the DNA. While many of the theoretical underpinnings of molecular biology and especially the nature of genetic code Sydney Brenner followed in the 1960s. Later on when Crick shifted to the California's Salk Institute, he due to his dyadic pairing, and as he moved his concentration to neurobiology stuck up with Christ of Koch. His career actually began as a physicist. He was sent to work at the Admiralty and therefore pulled out from school quite early, as he was made to investigate he functioning and detection of mines during the years of war. Specifically, he discovered methods in which the acoustic and magnetic mines provided strong resistance to the ships passing by. Later he decided never make efforts in the field of nuclear weaponry when the atomic bombs were dropped at the Nagasaki and Hiroshima. There afterwards he began his PhD, just before the war, on the tackiness of water. But later when the war was over he again shifted and moved on to the life sciences as he wanted to apply his knowledge of physics and whatever he possessed to be applied to the principles of life. He therefore chose the x-ray diffraction and as in those days most of the scientists perceived the proteins as the likely genie material, he was requested to study the structure of protein, specially the hemoglobin. He was introduced to Watson in the 1950s. After their meeting they immediately shifted to the DNA as according to Watson thought it was quite necessary for the further study of the gene. A very excellent job is being performed by Ridley while describing that how they worked it and why Franklin, Wilkins and Pauling failed to do so. In order to deal with the coding problems Crick spent next ten years if his life. The importance

What role does autonomy play in achieving a 'good death' Essay

What role does autonomy play in achieving a 'good death' - Essay Example â€Å"The main reason for the complex situation at the end of life is the development of life-sustaining technologies within the last fifty years† (Earle et al 2008, p.25). Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of autonomy in achieving a ‘good death’. Hence, the concepts of autonomy and ‘good death’, along with their guiding principles and their application will be evaluated and illustrated. â€Å"The care of dying patients is a responsibility for families, healthcare professionals and society† (Jeffrey 2006, p.2). Most care support is provided by families and non-professional carers. To improve the care of dying patients it is essential to understand end-of-life issues and promote effective communication. Palliative care for patients with chronic, life-threatening diseases such as advanced cancer involves decision making. Professionals are required to include patients in decisions that affect their care, while explaining to the patients and their carers, the ethical issues involved. Patient autonomy is perceived as key to ‘good death’. However, Brown (2003) argues that patient’s autonomy or freedom of choice at the end of life care is not merely a matter of individual preference. Other important criteria that influence a patient’s autonomy are socioeconomic status, availability of services, cultural factors, emotional and relationship factors, along with the political and other aspects of care. The manner in which people are cared for at the end of their lives is one indicator of a civilised society. Recent medical advances can delay death as well as prolong the process of dying. These dynamics generate tension from which emerge ethical dilemmas requiring debate. Though the technological aspect of care increases progressively, the new concerns are regarding the neglect of the softer, psychological elements of care.

Union Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Union Leadership - Essay Example The programs in the toolkit also offer guidance to workers (Melcher, 1992). The mandate of this action is to rescue the union from the worst depression that we are facing. The economic condition is deteriorating in an alarming rate therefore we risk facing retrenchment and rise in unemployment. I therefore urge all union workers to consider labor organization as a Political Action Committee to influence the outcome of the union. The reason why I have endorsed it is due to its flexibility and compatibility nature to accommodate the manifestos of our union. With all this I would like to ask you to elect me as the leader of the union. Having successfully contested and won a public office in my previous assignment and steering it to some outstanding achievement. I would like to given a chance to turn the tables round in this mantle. The position of women in union leadership has seen significant rise in the recent past. And it is now evident that women account for 37 percent for all trade unions under the umbrella of the International Labor Organization a key arm of the United Nation This field has however remained dominated by their male counterparts. Only two out of 95 unions in the AFL-CIO have women presidents. The increase of women leadership in the top national position has been very minimal over the past decade. Though there has been a major rise in women leadership in both local and regional levels they have not been able to find a ground to highlight their bargains and grievances to be heard (Swoboda, 1993). Unions have failed women in leadership since they reflect women’s problem at work places. This does not hinder the opportunities of women but also make them feel inferior hence they lack the morale to fight for top positions. The inclusion of women in top leadership in both local and national unions should be increased through unions accepting and paying attention to the growing

Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 24

Discussion - Assignment Example Instead, the two argue that the figures are too inflated to be real. For instance, Kal Raustilia and Chris Sprigman argue that the loss of 750,000 American jobs is double the number of employees in the entire filming industry, in 2010 (Raustilia and Sprigman, 1). Kal Raustilia and Chris Sprigman cite Tim Lee’s observation that statistical provisions as these have been characterized by methodological problems such as estimation and double and triple counting (Raustilia and Sprigman, 1). Nevertheless, in a more interesting twist, Raustilia and Sprigman charge that there are no losses which are incurred from downloading. Partly, this is because there are some cases of piracy which substitute for legitimate transactions, according to Raustilia and Sprigman. The two observe that even in some instances, even the people who sell audio or audio visual products never bought them, but instead pirated them (Raustilia and Sprigman, 1). Raustilia and Sprigman also argue that Internet piracy also disaffects the volume of sales in the job market, and the money that piracy may lead to increased savings. With increased savings come other values such as business ventures and increased entrepreneurship (Raustilia and Sprigman,

Employee Training and Management Essay Example for Free

Employee Training and Management Essay It is healthy for the operation of the business to have, although not that frequent, an evaluation of our co-employee/s for the betterment of the organization as a whole. With this, the company could attain its goals with fewer hindrances and achieve impressive growth in a shorter period of time. This paper aims to have a Coaching and Performance Improvement Analysis to my CEO, to whom I work as a secretary, in order to provide us with facts on how our CEO influence his subordinates as well as on the manner he fulfill his duties in the company. I have been a secretary to the CEO in our company for about ten years and I think that span of staying here is enough for me to give criticism or opinion regarding the professionalism of my bosses with regards to performing his duties and responsibilities. The current CEO of the company has been in his position for about 6 months. Since he is the one responsible for almost all of the operational details of the company, it is a must for us to know how competitive he is. The future of the company depends on him and any incompetence could lead to any losses not only to the company but as well as to the employees. During the recent months, the company has been experiencing down turns in the sales and profits. Even if the various units of the company are doing their job well, still, our target market continuous declines every single day. After conducting the investigation, the company officials found out that the problem boils down to the office of the CEO. The specific problem would be the CEO of the company took a couple of time planning for the instructions that must be given to the various units of the company as well as forwarding them to the vice-presidents of various units. Basically, the officers of the various units know the problem exists that is why they conducted an investigation to pin point the root of the problem. They also know the performance expectation that a CEO must fulfill in order to lead such complex company that covers wide operational services. This action caused delays in the daily operation of the business, thus, made the customers disappointed with the current performance of the company which before leads the market with providing delivery services to most of the cities in America. There are no hindrances outside the organization/team’s control that affects the performance of the CEO. Coaching Analysis Flow Chart This flow chart is being used as a strategic tool used to find out if we have to proceed in the performance improvement process and to identify the extent to which we can proceed in the performance improvement process. This is being used mainly to assist in the performance improvement process (Brocato). I believe that the problem is worth solving at since it already concerns the future of the business with regards to its performance to the market. The CEO of any company is the one that is responsible for the delicate operations aspects of the business and the source of most of the decisions that should be done by various units in order to achieve their goals and growth to have market stability. If this problem would not be solve, there will come a time wherein customers would no longer avail the services of the company, thus, could cause much more problem to the company. The competition now a day in the industry of delivery services is very tight due to the profitability in this type of business. Companies such as UPS and DHL are just a few of the threats to the company that needed much attention. With this, there is no room for any errors or incompetence on the part of any members of the company. Stockholder of the company could pull out their shares due to the risks involving the stability of the organization. It is much better it this problem would be treated right away so as to avoid any further complications and losses. The postponement in the imposition of the CEO with the specific plans per unit of the business cause delays in the operational process of the organization as a whole, specifically, the plan for the imposition of new delivery strategies to compete with the emerging delivery companies in the market. As based from the behavior of the market for the past years, they tend to easily shift their loyalty to those companies that can offer services that conform to their needs and type of living (Killoran). In short, innovative products’ are the one that gains market acceptance. Therefore, it is a must for the company to be on time with the delicate operational aspects of the organization so as not to be over shadowed by other companies belonging to the same industry. Every step in the operational process is important and requires constant observation on the part of the CEO so as to have a basis in conducting plans and strategies for the company. Therefore, it is a must to have a competitive and efficient CEO for the company to achieve their goals and stability in the market. The CEO fails to make new strategy regarding the imposition of an innovative delivery strategy that would attract more customers. The only reason that I can see here for the incompetence of the new CEO is his lack of experience. Six months in the position would not be enough for him to familiarize himself with the regular operations of the business and on what is the market trend in the economy. The CEO of the company also did become extra confident with the market status of the company during the years before his assume the position of being the CEO. Because of this, he was not able to maintain the stability of the company and only cause chaos in the financial as well as to the sales of the company. Stockholders panicked because of the undertakings of the CEO as well as his performance with regards to performing its functions well. We can now see the effect of having an incompetent person handling a very delicate position of in an organization. The stake of the stockholders, employees and the clients that put their trust to the company for many years is in danger. With regards to the job structure of the organization, I believe that his roles and involvement to various aspects of operations has contributed to his inefficiency as the top manager of the organization. I believe that he is not yet ready to shoulder many responsibilities and must delegate some task to middle and lower level managers. His role as the main icon of the organization requires him to appear in public to represent the whole organization could also be a contributing factor for him not to finish his responsibilities well. During the recent months, he had to travel to some places in America to generate additional stockholder to finance the plan of expanding the company into some states in America. With this, he spends less time in his office while the employees of the organization wait for the next step that they will do. This is one of the disadvantages of an organization that relies most on their CEO; they lack initiatives to make suggestions for their respective areas of concern so as to lessen the responsibility of their top manager. Moreover, having initiative to plan for the welfare of the middle managers area of concern helps they develop their abilities since they have to use their creativity in making strategies and decisions. If they only follow the command of the CEO and not suggesting other strategies with which they think more beneficial than with the plan of the CEO, then, the organization would really become stagnant and can be considered as a â€Å"one-man-team† organization. As for the managerial behavior, the CEO of the organization lacks the ability to encourage his subordinates to use their creativity to make plans regarding some small aspects of the operation of the business. With this, the responsibility of the CEO would be lessened and can now concentrate to more delicate aspects of the operation of the organization. On the subject of the personality of the CEO towards the fulfillment of his responsibilities, I think, this overconfidence regarding the organization has leaded the company to this problematic situation. Because of this personality of the CEO, his concentration towards the attainment of the organizational goal is not that enough for the customers avail our services. Regarding the question on whether the proposed solution of delegating some responsibilities to lower and middle level managers, I think that it would only costs less time and money since the implementation of this strategy will only affect a small part of the time of those managers. Besides, they are the one must know what is happening in their area of concern, thus, they have most of the information as compared to the CEO of the company. With this solution, the problem can be addressed and would only take a few weeks to experience the positive effects to the company. Proposed Solution For the CEO to have enough time to concentrate to those more delicate aspects of the organization, he should pass some of the planning responsibility to the various units of the company (Jackson). For instance, the problem regarding the marketing strategy of the organization, the CEO could assign the vice president to marketing of the company to deals the said problem since the said person has more knowledge with regards to conducting market analysis and has more experience regarding capturing the tastes of their target customers. This solution need not to conduct any trainings or could cause much costs to the company since this solution only delegates the tasks that is intended to each units of the organization. This solution would also develop the sense of creativity of the middle and lower level managers since they have to think unique strategy and plans so as to gain large share of market in the industry. This will also help them boost their morale since they will start to feel that they are important in the organization and has a part in attaining their goals and targets in the whole operational process.

The Uk Budget Hotel Sector Literature Review Tourism Essay

The Uk Budget Hotel Sector Literature Review Tourism Essay The negative connotation, which camped in the thoughts of regulars of small-sized commercial hotels, also known as budget hotels, is being substituted by a perceptual experience of affordability, proficiency and decency (Parsons, G., 2008). The swift shifting market changing aspects has positively affected the budget hotels fragment. This can be observed from the elation amongst local and international hospitality operators of budget hotels. There is a well-defined shape of evolving European vacationer over the direction the hospitality industry is taking (Solomon, M. R., 1992). Budget hotels are in the progression of being redefined with novel models, innovations as well as strategies. With converting mentality of customers and operators, modern-day budget hotels have fully taken a U-turn with unhesitating contrast. Being at a time when mini-full service hotels are acknowledged as business class, budget hotels have a healthy future. Budget hotels are compacted with simple facilities for apprehensive business travelers, hence targeting a precise market division of middle-rank business executives and price-sensitive corporate. Competitive hospitality entities are sensibly priced while having good service, style, and ambiance, and they manifest professionalism (Deloitte, 2004). A very high growth for budget hotels is envisioned, however the situation would be shrank due to deficit in supply of professional human capital. Nevertheless the encounters lay ahead need to be assumed as the spirit to test and the zeal to outshine continue. The UK Budget Hotel Sector In the UK, the budget hotel sector is at a point of exponential growth (McCaskey D., 2000).The branded budget hotel market remains to be controlled by hardly two heavy players. This is in reference to a new study by TRI Hospitality Consulting. Table 1 below from Budget Hotels 2010 UK show that the leading brand, Premier Inn, owned 41,511 rooms by the end of 2009, earning it a market share of about 38%; The closest contender to Premier Inn was Travelodge, having 27,010 rooms by the close of 2009, earning Travelodge a market share of almost 25%. Premier Inn and Travelodge therefore control over two thirds of the budget hotel brands market in the United Kingdom. Table 1 UK Leading Budget Hotels Operators Source: Budget Hotels 2010 UK Brand Number of Hotels Number of rooms Premier Inn 582 41 511 Travelodge 377 27 010 Holiday Inn Express 109 12 464 Ibis 53 7 173 Jurys Inn 23 5 828 Innkeepers Lodge 91 2 652 Etap 17 2 212 Ramada Encore 16 1 947 Days In 30 1 834 Day Hotel 12 1 562 The branded budget sector in the United Kingdom is centered in just a couple of companies. However, the competition keeps on to fly high in the general hotel industry as the budget hotels take over the mid-market hotels and boardinghouses. Jonathan Langston, the managing director of TRI Hospitality Consulting agrees with this observation (Parsons, G. 2008). After 1993, the count of rooms in budget hotel in the United Kingdom has risen by more than 10 times from 10,555 rooms in 1993 to 109,528 rooms at the close of 2009. Although Premier Inn and Travelodge control the branded budget market, many new brands have been coming up into the sector (Tri Hospitality Consulting, 2010).The most fortunate competitor to Premier Inn and Travelodge has been Holiday Inn Express which currently runs 109 hotels having 12,464 rooms (Tri Hospitality Consulting, 2010). However, this is less than 50% of the Travelodges number of rooms, and less than 30% of Premier Inn. Recession Impacts on the Budget Hotel Sector The new study, done by HotStats and issued by industry newsletter Hotel Analyst, as well makes it clear that while robust, the budget hotel sector has not remained unhurt by the economic downturn. Throughout 2009, returns per available room went down by 9.1%, with tenancy falling by 5.9% points to 67.8% and rate holding up better with a decline of 1.1% to  £50.97. The effect of recession on the budget hotel sector was confirmed by Jonathan Langston when he said, The budget hotel market has truly been the hotel industrys success story of the last decade. While trading has suffered in the recession, new hotels are continuing to open, reflecting the long term viability of the segment, (TRI Hospitality Consulting, 2010, Pp. 1). The Budget Hotel Market Environment The UK Budget hotel sphere began in 1985 with the inaugural of the Ibis at Heathrow, as well as Little Chef Travel Lodge. Ten years later, there were about 400 budget hotels having 28,500 rooms in total. As already mentioned in this paper, the budget hotel sector is exponentially growing, becoming increasingly swift; Merrill Lynch forecast the budget hotel rooms to increase from 40,000 in 1999 to 80,000 in 2003 taking a 20% share of the UK hotel market (Deloitte, 2004). An exploration study by the Henley Centre (2000) Leisure in the New Millennium staged to the Joint Hospitality Industry Congress (JHIC) demonstrated that development in real disposable income was increasing demand. This unrestricted spend had been arising at 2.6% since 1995 and was visualized to speed up its rate of growth to 3.7% Compound Annual Growth Rate by 2005. Leisure consumption was shifting from being looked upon as a luxury to becoming a necessity, in fact, almost an elementary human right. The effect of individuals seeing leisure as part of their run-of-the-mill running expenses should be to cut down the industrys cyclicality. Afore the budget hotel industrys historical perspective as suffering from a hyperbolized cycle, the realism is that this industry has developed at a similar rate as the GDP since 1993 (McCaskey D., 2000). There is a lot of evidence to demonstrate that every night budget hotels in the UK growingly affranchise the population into budget hotel use. This must be a wanted shift from the 1960s the time at which fewer than 5% of the population in the UK stayed in UK hotels, to the rates experienced today 21st Century, when more that 50% of the UKs population are active hotel users. Arguably, McDonalds was a chief accelerator in stimulating the development of the UK eating-out market. McDonalds got rid of many of the roadblocks or inhibitions to hotel usage. Several strategic success reasons behind McDonaldss QSCV (Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value) are very relevant to budget hotels. To protect its name that could be taken advantage of, McDonaldss attorneys had to deter one business from brand-marking its hotel product McSleep (McCaskey D., 2000). With 80,000 rooms and 80% tenancy rate, approximations point that, budget hotels will accommodate more than 23,000,000 room-nights per year; in other words over 55% of an entire UK PLC demand. Kleinwort, B. (1996) figures demonstrate that back in 1995, UK PLC hotels gave 31.35 million room nights on sale. Accordingly, these newly lodge formats having low cost base have become a major challenge to two-thirds of the star conventional hotels which incline to having comparatively high costs reinforced into their operations and per se, lack the plasticity to elevate their operation to four-star levels, or to reduce costs to empower them to tie lodge prices. McCaskey, D. (2000) depicted budget hotels as a more and more hungry Pac Man as they cut a strip through the current industry. Similar volatile increase in lodge facility in the United States from the mid 60s to the late 70s left many of the USs distracted mid-market hotels in confusion. In the air, Governmental deregulation engendered the development of low cost airlines, a move that served to give rise to the speedy end of Pan Am and TWA. Deregulation is at present in full spate in the United Kingdom and Europe with a radical diminishing effect on costs and subsequent revenues in both airline and hotel industries. In the United States, the waysides and conurbation are now full of supererogatory and peripheral lodge properties constructed all through their boom years while some companies such as Red Roof Inns and La Quinta still record continuing success every year (McCaskey, D., 2000). The Battle for Market Share The budget hotel market has all the features of the growth phase in the product/service life cycle, making it an apotheosis. The marketing processes commonly associated with the growth phase are: The approaches which promote resilient brand loyalty; The approaches which reinforce market share: The approaches which improve a competitive status and underline the differentiated benefits. The marketing activities of Travel Inn brand, owned by Whitbread Hotel Company, stand out to clearly exemplify the above three. Travel Inn brand has been so orchestrated to cut down the risk of a negative client experience and has built a lasting value. Travel Inn conforms to all the standards for classification as a Leadership Brand, ranked beside other brands including Coca-Cola, Volvo, Disney, as well as Tesco. In other words, Travel Inn and the other four live a sort of Total Brand Management lacking in other organizations. Other budget hotels also need to pursue similar status. The exemplified companies and Travel Inn have a tenacity that communicates all that they do for everybody to know what they can best do for the brand. To affirm this take, Travel Inn competitive advantages have been examined using the Seven Characteristics of Leadership Brands model (Tilley, C., 1999). The Seven are the common elements to be found in all leading brands; they are the ways by which brands r egularly and consistently bear their promise. Travel Inn is the prominent market leader in the mushrooming budget hotel industry; attaining 86% room tenancy, across its 250 outlets, noting that every newly opened Travel Inn operates for about three years before it gains about maximum penetration in its home-grown area. This dilutes Travel Inns general mean group occupancy. This budget hotel takes another three years to build its regular clientele base. Accordingly, Alan Parkers, Hotel Companys M.D. (Parker, A., 2000) argument that a great number of Travel Inns invariably performed at mid-90% tenancy, can be said of being bold as well as true. It is evident that Travel Inn is doing what others are not doing in order to successfully remain competent. For instance in 1999, Travel Inn recorded a staggering 78% repeat occupation. Further analysis of Travel Inns figures staged that 77% of its customers stayed doubly or more throughout a year. In the meantime, 33% of the budget hotels customers stayed over 21 nights per annum year while more than 15,000 stayed every single night (Tri Hospitality Consulting, 2010). In contrast to other UK budget hotels, Travel Inn finds another competitive advantage on booking; Travel Inn has a system by which its regular customers are able to book further and further beforehand to secure their spaces. Competitive Advantage Success factors held by one budget hotel can be adopted by another. Travel Inn does a number of things that place it at a better place to successfully compete in the market. In reference to Travel Inn, the following strategies have been found to help budget hotels in competing successfully for market share: 1. Competitive budget hotels influence the conducts of their clients instead of following conventions and markets; they create customers. It is a practice and tradition in the hotel sector to come up a sophisticated rate of discounts. These discounts may be related to the volume of business and booking period among others. This strategy is meant to maintain and generate demand to make the most of tenancy and price. However, some budget hotels run without these incentives abs they still make it in competitive business. This could imply that there are factors other than this that place such brands on a competitive edge. For instance, Travel Inn does not offer such discounts; it neither pays travel agent commissions. As much as these are revolutionary departures from the budget hotel industry norm, Travel Inn still out-performs the occupation averages for the budget hotel sector. Travel Inns AARR (average achieved room rate) without discounts is the chains rack rate. 2. Competitive budget hotels efficaciously make a meaning that is more than just a function of the product or service. The best meanings are grounded on profoundly felt human needs. A research report on June 29, 2009 by Guy Parson, the Director of Marketing at Travel Inn, indicated that Travel Inn was more welcoming compared to Holiday Inn Express or Travel Lodge. The report also confirmed the speculations that Travel Inn was the first option in cheap accommodation. Very encouraging client gratification surveys as well as mystery shopping rates were being attained throughout Travel Inn and were invariably supervised. From this quantitative and qualitative research it was learnt that clients truly enjoyed their Travel Inn rooms that were new and lively (Parsons, G., 1999). Travel Inn has a compulsory total renovation after every three years, up to and including the bed. Evidently, there are other budget hotels which are riding on a similar competitive edge. For instance, on September 10, 2009, David Michels (2000) gave a brief biography in which he stated that among his first undertakings immediately after taking over as Chief Executive of the tumultuous Stakis Hotel Group was to make a request to a bank to enable him to buy 4,000 new beds for the hotel. Michels, D., (2000) acknowledged that the move helped Stakis recuperate. Michels said, We are after all in the sleep business, it would seem that one of the major components in making this a pleasurable experience is frequently ignored (Michels, D., Pp. 3). From this proceeding, Paul Slatterys (1995) analysis established that the gap between UK hotels PLC and unquoted firms is daily broadening while the tormenting multitudes of independent budget hotels deteriorate into slums. How Budget Hotels Achieve Competitive Advantage Still using Travel Inn as an example, this paper now focuses on how the most successful budget hotels in the UK have achieve a competitive edge. 1. Leadership budget hotel brands stand for meaning everything that they do According to McCaskey, D. (1999), the Travel Inn line of attack in relation to pricing is totally ethical. Leadership budget hotel brands take a pluralist line, such as an impression that a companys performance ought to be looked at in a much more pluralistic manner than just by the bottom line. Such budget hotels frequently go beyond the minimal demands of Corporate Governance. These budget hotels policy is an example of good practice. Given tenancy figures and the significant amount or deflected demand, Whitbread could maximize its price easily. Notwithstanding, Whitbread stands for the prices which are conventional, competitive, widespread, logical and fair, which makes it to easily communicate the prices throughout its affiliates. There are only three classes of prices in the UK budget hotel industry; Roadside, Metro (in City Centre) and Capital (in London). However, leadership budget hotel brands carry out price research to insure that the prices are in line with customer value. It is believed that many of Whitbreads contenders simply follow Whitbreads lead. Though the pricing warfare has for a long time successfully invaded the unjust pricing in retail banking, super-marketing and automobile distribution, there are however too many doubtful practices in the UKs budget hotel industry (McCaskey, D., 1999). These questionable traditions comprise of: Hyperbolic rack rates; Bait and Switch publicizing promotions; Single-room supplements, and; Over-Riding Commissions (kick-backs given to agents/ middlemen and their staff. Given the present-day consumer rights desired order of business, the four questionable practices will unavoidably be disclosed. 2. Leadership budget hotel brands are steady and expressive in every facet of their communication This strategy ensures understanding. Whitbreads recent innovational TV promotion fully conforms to this approach. A reexamination study staged in April 2000 affirmed that the purposes set for this TV commercial were outmatched. The researchs outcomes demonstrated that: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Spontaneous awareness had risen from 12% in April 1999 to 26% in May 2000. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Prompted awareness had risen from 67% in April 1999 to 82% in May 2000. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ New logo recognition rose from 17% in April 1999 to 51% in May 2000. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Over the campaign period, there was a 16.5% increase in Central Reservation calls à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Over the year there had been a 99% increase in e-mail requests and a 900% increase in Web Site visitors. The site should take interactive bookings shortly. (Whitbread Marketing Department August, 2000, Pp. 12) The Whitbreads staff handbook on the other hand captures the effect of the brand which is apportioned among team players. These foreshortened extracts from Whitbreads staff handbook are a model of what ought to be carried out by other UK budget hotels. The book states: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Dare to care; Budget hotel staffs need to show considerateness, regard client as special so as to ensure that the brand transcends what is expected. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Keep it simple; Budget hotel staffs should not over-complicate matters; Whitbreads staff are informed that being informal helps them to communicate crush barriers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Right first time; Budget hotel staffs ought to be passionate about the industry standards. The then Whitbreads CEO David Thomas (2000) got this Right First Time attribute right with an instance serving as a lesson for the budget hotel sector. Mr. Thomas said that Most of the budget hotel sector needs continuous investment in people. He said, This is an area where I believe we most frequently shoot ourselves in the foot. Putting a raw recruit with little or no training and, no experience, in front of a customer is unforgivable. In the end this is the most expensive option to take because we then have to find more raw recruits and more customers, because the experience demeans them both, (Thomas, D., 2000, Pp. 7). Thomas (2000) continued to say that by the budget hotels industry standards, Whitbread had comparatively a low staff turnover. According to Mr. Thomas, the investment of budget hotels in training and improvement, and competitive pay and considerations, are critical factors in the future of the budget hotel industry. These tools of the trade, Mr. Thomas said, shape the future of this industry. 3. Leadership budget hotel brands are dynamic, invariably adopting to meet new demands and remain pertinent In a 1998 brand re-launch, Project Catapult, Guy Parsons (1999) clearly redefined the brand proposition. In his speech, Parsons suggested a number of things that ought to be done by UK budget hotels that wish to have a sharp competitive edge. Parsons proposed that UK budget hotels need to have a constant duologue between the hotel and its customers. A succeeding UK budget hotel in terms of competitive edge should have the following characteristics: It should fit its general mission statement; It is should be grounded in fact, and there should prove to support it; It should have a good tonal fit in line with the most recent research findings; It should suggest the audaciousness and confidence of being a market leader It should state its attention for internal motivation It should state its clear focus concerning communication It should bear in mind that price is not the center though value should still be The UK budget hotel according to Parsons, G. (1999) should use the above measures to draw their competitive strategies. Budget Hotels Societal Roles to Achieve Competitive Advantage Leadership Budget Hotel brands have social responsibilities According to Whitbreads Chief Executive, David Thomas (2000), during The Joint Hospitality Industry Congress at the Gloucester Millennium Hotel, leadership brands hold beliefs, positions and, conduct which earn the respect of the people outside the brand. A few years before 2000, Travel Inn had been criticized by some players in the budget hotel industry, and by a good number of city market analysts, for missing the chance of making short-term profits in Travel Inn. The analysts attributed the cause to having one national price that Travel Inn applied each throughout the week. After Travel Inn sharpened its strategies, Travel Inn it has since developed to become among the UKs biggest branded hotel chains having 250 hotels and 12,500 rooms. As tabled earlier on this paper, Travel Inns tenancy is increasing across the brand relative to its returns. Thomas bases Travel Inns success on a win-win approach between the brand and its clients. 2. Budget Hotel brands leadership is earned not given Leadership budget hotel brands percolate the whole establishment; they are not merely the organizations label. Leadership budget hotel brands serve as a living model of how well to carry on, what activity to do to achieve the best, and how to perform into the future. Other UK budget hotel brands need to realize the groundbreaking and innovative strategies developed by Whitbread. In its inauguration, Travel Inn yipped that it was set to start up a totally innovational and path-breaking scheme which would play a role in further differentiating it, give its brand the first mover status as well as maintain its intention as The UKs Favorite place to Stay. Successfully, Travel Inn has lived to live its initiation dream. This thus serves as an example to other UK budget hotel brands; they should set their own societal goals, live by them so as to place them in a better competitive position (Parsons, G., 1999). The Future for the UK Budget Hotel Sector Mr. Robert C. Hazard, President Choice Hotels, in the year 1994 was quoted saying, the period 2000-2010 will be the most competitive in the history of the UK Budget Hotel industry..every lodge must become more market driven, improving its product to create a unique, sustainable competitive advantage and a perception of greater value amongst its guests (Porter, M., 1996, Pp. 61). Porter argued that strategic advantage may be earned via uniqueness. He said, A company can only outperform rivals if it can establish a difference that it can preserve. It must deliver greater value to customers or create comparable value at lower cost or do both (Porter, M., 1996, Pp. 67). Porter also acknowledges that through differentiation, arithmetical productivity leads to superior measure and lets a company to charge even higher normal prices per units. It also makes a company get more efficient results even in lower than normal costs per unit and all this enable a company to achieve a virtuous circle . Today, the quick development stage in lodging services decelerates as the market attains full development and becomes concentrated. Predictions place this development at an infiltration that is approximately between 20% and 25% in the hotel market in United Kingdom. The predictions have mentioned important presence in the developments at the waysides, in the outskirts, in inner-cities and also in London. The hotel market in UK will be noticeably defined by price and quality groupings, from the super- budget to upper-market economic systems. Most hotels that will be the mid-market contributors in the current cluster include, Holiday Inn Express, Premier Lodge, Travel Inn and Travel Lodge. These hotels are expected to have realized their strategic and network aspirations and to have also settled most present matters such as the telephone facilities in the hotel bedrooms, the extra conference and meeting rooms. These improvements should be carefully examined so as to meet the actual cus tomer prerequisites. Increment in competition is expected over the years and growth in supply is also expected to surpass the growth in demand. The stronger players are gradually expected to battle one another instead of just taking business from the lesser participants as presently (Pricewaterhouse, 2010). In 1998, the Vice President of Holiday Inn Express, Mr. Shane Harris remarked that, The budget sector is over supplied with non-branded, poor quality, inconsistent hotels. These will be overtaken by the branded budgets which are currently undersupplied, (Harris, S., 1998, Pp. 21). The renowned betting and control organization, Pricewaterhouse Coopers recognize Brands as the large components of an organizations incorporeal worth (July 2000). Pricewaterhouse Coopers also influence brands capability to improve stakeholder worth with trademark tactics in formulating competitive benefit. The trademarking idea has changed from product advertising to service advertising. Corporate brands should steadily mirr or the capabilities of the particular organization. Table 2 Literature Review Matrix Author/Focus Industry Recession Environ Share Advantage Strategy Social Future Deloitte Kleinwort, B McCaskey Michels Parker, A. Parsons, G. Porter, M. Pricewaterhouse Slattery, P. Solomon, M Tilley, C. THC Whitbread

The Uses And Misuses Of Derivatives Finance Essay

The Uses And Misuses Of Derivatives Finance Essay Hedge funds are pools of investment that invest in almost any opportunity in any market where they foresee impressive gains at reduced risk. Hedging refers to implementing strategies that manage or protect against an identified risk exposure. They take leveraged positions in publically traded equity, debt, foreign exchange and derivatives. The primary aim of most hedge funds is to reduce volatility and risk while attempting to preserve capital and deliver positive returns under all market conditions (Friedland., 2008). Derivatives provide institutions the opportunity to break financial risks into smaller components and then to buy or sell those components to manage risk. Hedge funds hold a number of assets; they use derivatives to protect against the adverse price movement of these assets. Hedge funds play more of the role of speculators than of hedgers. They use derivatives when buying and selling assets and by putting long-short positions, they seek to hedge themselves against broad market moves while profiting from changes in the relative value of the instruments they go long or short. Hedge funds offer a variety of unique strategies to utilize when investing in hedge funds, these are called hedging techniques. These include Market Neutral Strategies, Event Drive / Special Situations Strategies, Long Short, Global Macro, Sector and Country, Dynamic Strategies, Funds of Funds, Funds of Funds of Funds etc. (http://www.global-derivatives.com) Market Neutral Strategies are used in Market Neutral Funds. They tend to take positions which offset each other through both a long and short position simultaneously to reduce their risk exposure. These strategies include Long Short and Convertible Arbitrage. Long-Short methodology attempts to reduce market risk by taking both long and short positions in the market. This can be done by taking a long position in undervalued assed and a short position in overvalued ones. In these funds, it is anticipated that the undervalued assets will increase in value than any losses incurred from the overvalued assets, or vice versa. Convertible arbitrage is a relatively more complex strategy. In this convertible securities such as convertible bonds which can be converted into normal shares or bonds are bought, to take advantage of any price discrepancies between the convertible security and that of the exchangeable underlying. A position can be taken for buying convertible security or selling the underlying asset to realise any difference in prices. (http://www.global-derivatives.com) Event Driven / Special Situations Strategies intend to make profit from events related to particular companies. Event Driven funds take a bet that something in the future will happen which will affect the company and its assets in a particular way. These funds include Distressed Securities and Merger/ Risk Arbitrage; these securities include debt and equity of companies undergoing reorganization or bankruptcy, it is hoped that companies will recover and increase in value. These securities have very low value and can be given to the management of a company during the restructuring process. Merger/Risk Arbitrage funds tend to analyze companies which are potential takeover or merger targets by taking two positions. An example of it would be to buy the stocks of a company that is being acquired with hope that its prices will rise and to sell stocks of the company that is acquiring, in anticipation that its value might fall. (http://www.global-derivatives.com) Long Short is another strategy which includes buying and selling a security based on the sentiments in the market or of a company. It includes short selling, long, and growth fund. Short selling occurs when a person anticipates that the price will fall in future and sells a stock which it does not possess, through borrowing. If the price really falls in future, they buy the lot from the market at a lower price and return it to the one they borrowed from earlier at lower price, thus making a profit. Long is another strategy in hedge funds, it is a fixed income instrument that benefits from the rise in the price of the held asset. They often utilize leveraged positions to maximize returns. Global Macro is an economics based strategy which intends to benefit from shifts in global economic conditions such as inflation, interest rates and other macro-economic factors; a common example of it is the use of interest rate derivatives for speculative purposes, they give profit from economic movements within particular countries. Sector and Country strategies include sector funds and emerging markets. Sector funds are hedge funds that specialize within a particular industry for example technology, textile etc. these investments consist of long or short positions in stock, debt, or even derivatives on the stocks. Emerging markets include funds that emphasize on emerging markets with less-developed economies and aim to profit from market growth which influence the securities positively. Securities in these hedge funds include sovereign debt or corporate securities with the anticipation that their prices will rise with economic growth. Dynamic strategies include elements such as market timings and opportunistic. Strategy of market timing involves the right timing of the market. It includes making profit based on the correct timing of investments across markets by moving between various asset classes depending upon the view of the manager regarding the market environment. Opportunistic strategy involves switching across asset classes, they use a number of strategies mentioned above depending upon the managers discretion, and the reason for switching strategies is to make the most profit. (http://www.global-derivatives.com) Funds of funds is the strategy of hedge funds to invest in other hedge funds in order to diversify the risk and exposure. The success of these funds depends upon the managers way of handling the funds rather than the performance of the actual investments. Funds of funds of funds or F3s is a new concept to hedge the risk exposure in terms of investments by reducing the volatility of the funds itself. They are good for high risk-averse investors willing to invest in the hedge funds industry. (http://www.global-derivatives.com) Amaranth Advisors LLC (Amaranth) Formation and Background Amaranth comprises of Amaranth LLC and Amaranth Advisors LLC. It was founded by Nick Maounis (Maounis) in 2000 as a multi-strategy hedge fund with a special focus on convertible arbitrage (selling (short) equity stocks and at the same time buying (long) convertibles of the same company creating a delta neutral portfolio), with its headquarter in Greenwich, Connecticut and with approximately $600 million in capital. Maounis experience was in managing a number of various arbitrage accounts in the US, Japan, Europe and Canada. The aim was to make profits from the small discrepancies in prices of stocks and bonds, through its structure of three principal funds Amaranth Partners LLC, Amaranth Capital Partners LLC, and Amaranth International Limited and the 27 investment professionals. It sought to employ a group of arbitrage trading strategies particularly featuring convertible bonds, stocks of merging companies and utilities. However, Over the years, the trading activity of Amaranth ex panded into merger arbitrage (making a riskless profit by purchasing individual stocks of two merging companies and selling them together), leveraged loans (loans given/extended to individuals or companies that already have large debts on their books), blank-check companies (developing companies) ,volatility trading arbitrage (buying or selling an option on an underlying instrument and selling or buying a varying percentage of the underlying instrument this to gain from the difference between the implied volatility of an option and forecasted future probable volatility of the corresponding underlying instrument), long/short equity, and energy trading. (ICMR, 2010) Strategy As noted above, at the time of formations and throughout its term, the firm emphasized that it was a multi-strategy hedge fund, but as it could be noted in the aftermaths that most of the firms investments and losses were in natural gas derivatives. Amaranths basic strategy comprised of trading in the Natural Gas market; the firm took a long position in winters, with hope that the prices will rise, especially when the demand for natural gas exceeds the supply and storage capacity due to the cold season. Its winter months were November, December, January, February and March. Amaranth used to take a short position in summers when it anticipated that the prices will fall. Part of its strategy also included taking short position in April and long position in March. Moreover, another strategy was to purchase call options on winter months and put options on non-winter months. Amaranth used to bet that natural gas prices will rise, and the spreads in March and April prices will rise as well. Nature of Natural Gas Market By nature, the natural gas market is very risky and volatile. Majorly because there is a commercial need for the commodity. This situation creates a need for an institution to control its supply and storage. In America, there has been inadequate storage capacity of natural gas for peak the winter season demand. Therefore the price of natural gas is higher in winters; firstly due high demand and secondly due to increase the incentives to store natural gas. These factors raise the prices of winter natural gas contracts to an all time high level. Apart from that, the market of natural gas is also volatile because the natural gas production in America is lower than the rise in the demand for natural gas. U.S. Natural Gas markets are shielded from the global energy factors because a very small amount of US natural gas need are met by imports of Liquid Natural Gas (LNG). Commodities trades require less margin money (collateral) than other markets. On the main exchanges, trades post 10 percent of their positions value, whereas in the stock market, 50 percent is common. (Davis, Sender, Zuckerman, 2006). After gaining credit from banks, it is very easy for commodity hedge funds to get highly leveraged quickly. Traders of natural gas have a number of options. The largest exchange for trading natural gas is the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange) which has standardized futures contracts up to few delivery months up to 5 years that are traded on the exchange. Traders can also use ICE (Intercontinental Exchange) which is an over-the-counter market for trading natural gas futures contracts. There has been a lot of debate if hedge funds have an impact on energy trading. According to Gary Gensler (a former Goldman Sachs banker and treasury department official and chairman of the Commodity Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) the chief regulator for energy futures energy trading said I believe that excessive speculation in commodity futures can cause sudden or unreasonable fluctuations or unwarranted changes in commodity prices,. He also expressed his opinion that the rapid growth of commodity index funds and increased hedge fund allocation to commodity assets contributed to the bubble in commodity prices. (Delamaide, Jan 11, 2010) Performance The founders original expertise was in convertible bonds (Till, 2006). The firm later specialized in leveraged loans, blank-check companies and in energy trading. Till June 30th 2006, energy trades accounted for about half of the funds capital and generated about 75% of their profits. (Till, 2006) In 2002 Amaranth started trading with JP Morgan Chase, in energy commodity trading. The winters of 2003 were exceptionally cold and lasted till February, this raised the prices of natural gas manifolds, and this in turn gave huge profits to Amaranth due to its long position in winters. By 2004-5 Amaranth shifted most of its investments into energy trading. The company used to make huge profits from placing spread trades and placing bullish bets on energy in 2005. In the same year America was severely hit by Hurricane Katrina, which adversely impacted it natural gas and oil production and refining capacity. This raised the price of natural gas and Amaranth reaped huge profits out of it. The accounts of Amaranth LLC showed robust performance by the company since its inception. The compound annual return for the period September 2000-November 2005 according to media reports was 14.72 net of all costs. (Gupta Kazemi) The chart below shows Amaranths returns till May 2005. The chart compares the Amaranths returns against CISDM Equal Weighted Hedge Fund Index and CISDM Convertible Arbitrage Index. Amaranth had gained a noteworthy position in May 2005, in CISDM Equal Weighted Hedge Fund Index. The chart show the volatility Amaranth was facing in May 2005, this volatility had brought high returns in the past but things then started taking the turn towards the wrong side. Amaranths returns; source: (Gupta Kazemi) NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange) noticed Amaranths considerable open interest of 51% in Aug 2006 in September natural gas futures contract, which would expire at the end of the month. NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange) brought its concerns into notice to Amaranth. Amaranth not only reduced their September but also Octobers positions, as per the directions of NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange). Alongside Amaranth increased their positions in October and September positions under ICE contracts, thus escalating their overall positions in natural gas. (Gupta Kazemi) According to US Securities and Exchange Commission filings, investors in Amaranths funds included a number of Wall Street banks including Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse Group and Deutsche Bank AG. (Burton Leising, 2006) Amaranth was marketing energy and commodities fund to open in December 2006 of about $5 billion. The fund was to be managed by Hunter and Jeff Baired, co-head of Amaranths Global energy and commodities business. But unfortunately the events that followed didnt allow it to happen. (Burton Leising, 2006) Collapse and Beyond Amaranth used to bet that natural gas prices will rise, and the spreads in March and April prices will rise as well. However in 2006, so did not happen and gas prices began to decline due to rising inventories leaving Amaranth on the wrong side of the market trend and consequently reducing its portfolio value of $9.2 billion by less than half. Headed by Brian Hunter, it seemed that Amaranth had not anticipated the rise in the natural gas storage capacity, and the weather pattern bringing a warmer winter. It was in a weeks time that Amaranth lost 65% of its $9.2 billion assets. On September 14 alone, the fund lost $681 million from its natural gas exposure. On September 20th 2006, Amaranth sold its entire energy trading portfolio in a flurry to J.P. Morgan Chase and Citadel Investment Group. It did so at significant discounts to the portfolios then mark-to-market value. (Till, 2006) At the time of liquidation of Amaranth, the spread on gas future declined. The spread on positions held by Amaranth were $2.85 in late August, but after the liquidation had reached below $0.75. (MORGENSON ANDERSON, September 20, 2006). This indicates the lower price expectations in both the bid and ask price for every $1 invested in Amaranths holdings. When Amaranth Advisors LLC announced that it had suffered losses just as big as LTCMs, markets did not respond for Amaranth the way as they did for LTCM (Long Term Capital Management). New York Fed did not hold summit meeting for a bailout plan; but JP. Morgan Co. and Merrill Lynch Co started selling off Amaranths portfolio of natural gas futures. The co-founder of Energy Hedge Fund Centre (which tracks 520 energy funds) said, There is not systematic risk. The market can absorb this. (Mufson, 2006). The reasons for such a reaction were that, firstly Amaranth (although was doing rash trading) but borrowed less heavily and had less leverage than LTCM (Long Term Capital Management); secondly its positions were smaller and focused in natural gas futures. LTCM s failure threatened the stability of banks, whereas Amaranths failure only hurt imprudent investors in the natural gas market who hadnt done any research before investing. Amaranths co-founder and chief executive, Nicholas Maounis, said in his letter to investors that the fund was aggressively reducing our natural gas exposure to meet payments to creditors. The said that there was large scale fluctuations in the value of the fund, which was up sharply in August, would be down 35 percent for the year after the sell-off. Later Maounis said that the conditions in the natural gas market deteriorated and market liquidity dried up so quickly that the fund was unable to unwind its energy positions. He said it became clear that we couldnt trade out of it. Amaranth had no choice but to sell its positions at a huge loss because the fund was faced with margin calls and couldnt borrow anymore because of the liquidity problem that emerged once news of its losses hit the market. Maounis apologized to the institutional investors, pension funds and wealthy individuals who lost money as a result of the bad trades. He said We feel bad about losing our money. We feel even worse about losing your money. (CBC-News, 2006) Officially at Amaranth desperately tried to sell the fund to Citigroup. But despite the extensive talks and negotiations, Citigroup decided to walk away from making any deal. (Taulli, Sep 29th 2006 ) On July 25, 2007, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) charged Amaranth and head energy trader Brian Hunter with Attempted Manipulation of the Price of Natural Gas Futures including making false statements to the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has also charged Amaranth and its traders with market manipulation. Amaranth filed a lawsuit against JP Morgan claiming US$ 1 billion in damages, on the grounds that the bank interfered in the companys work to make a deal with Goldman Sachs and Citadel Investments. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) later announced a settlement with Amaranths defendants. However Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) did not withdraw its charges on Amaranth and on August 12, 2009, the federal court ordered Amaranth to pay a $7.5 million civil monetary penalty. The court also enjoins Amaranth from violating the anti-manipulation provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act. (Release, 2009) Amaranth then sued Touradji and his employees (Touradji Capital Management LP), by filing a complaint on September 18, 2006 in New York Supreme court in Manhattan, seeking at least $350 million for claims including breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets. Amaranth says that Touradji Capital Management LP breached two contracts agreed to in September 2006 regarding the transfer and purchase of Amaranths base-metals portfolio. According to the official documents, Touradji Capital Management LP used the information to recover profits obtained by defendants through improper trading practices and misuse of plaintiffs propriety and confidential information. Maounis, through a spokesman, refused to comment on the Touradji Capital Management LP suit (Chanjaroen, 2006). However in September 2009, Amaranth withdrew the summon it filed against Touradji Capital Management. Neither of the parties made a payment of any kind due to the withdrawal of notice. After the fall of Amaranth, Goldman Sachs was quick to come into action, and struck a deal to take over hedge fund manager of Amaranth Advisor LLCs lease at Greenwich America. Goldman occupied about 124,000 square feet at the property, which had served at Amaranths headquarters before the company was wound up in September. Amaranths lease was to expire in at the end of 2015 and had a rate of about $35 per square foot. (Ambroz, April 10, 2007) Internal control or Management of Amaranth Maouniss original expertise was in convertible bonds. In mid 2004 Maounis hired Brian Hunter (Hunter) an energy trader who was working for Deutshe Bank energy trading desk. Calgary-based Hunter was Amaranths head energy trader, who was given a free hand to trade the commodity market, due to his past experience of taking huge positions and making huge profits in the natural gas market. Maounis was impressed that Hunters made hundreds of millions of dollars (around 1 billion) for the firm in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina sent natural gas prices soaring, made the 32-year-old Canadian a co-head of commodities trading. Maounis let Hunter increase the size of his natural gas positions so that they became more than half of the entire firms exposure. This was against Amaranths claim of maintaining a multi-strategy fund. Before Hunters arrival, all commodities positions made up about 20 percent of Amaranths portfolio with natural gas having roughly 7 percent share. Amaranths partners had a confidence built on past success and they thought that they had a fool-proof strategy (taking long position in winters and short in summers); the company had reaped huge profits in 2002-2005 from this strategy. Amaranths website said moving nimbly and effectively within an ever-changing investment landscape and said that its employees possess fearlessness with respect to complexity, learning, as well as invention, and continuously strive for perfection. Maounis, said he had chosen the companys name, which means unfading in Greek. According to the wall street journal, Brian Hunters had so much success in trading natural gas futures, or bets, on the future prices of the commodity, that Amaranth allowed him to work from his home in Calgary, where he drove a Ferrari in summer and a Bentley in winters. (Hedge fund: a gamble too far, 2006, September 20). Analysts estimate that in order to fund his positions, Hunter was borrowing $8 for every $1 of Amaranths own funds. When the bet went in his favour, he could pay back the debt and keep the rest of the profit for Amaranth. As the bets started to go against him September 2006, his borrowing amplified his losses. (Hedge fund: a gamble too far, 2006, September 20). It is commonly believed that hedge funds improve the efficiency of the financial markets by introducing liquidity and innovation (Hedge fund: a gamble too far, 2006, September 20). However Amaranths collapse shows that the hedge fund managers earn for their lavish salaries only and not for the investors who have put up their earnings and savings in their funds. Operational risk is the risk associated with the internal management of the company and the probability of making wrong decisions that might harm the performance of the firm. Amaranth seemed to be suffering highly from operational risk. Hunters had a target of making $2 billion for the year at the end of August 2006. Analysts comment of such a target that Hunters must have had an unconsciously large position for this market, One of the biggest players in the energy markets, such as Goldman Sachs Group, would take up positions less than a tenth as big as Hunters, traders said. Hunter was involved in rash trading in the market as his positions were often twice as big as the next biggest. It is also said that in Amaranth, there was an exclusive risk manager for every trading book, who sat with the risk takers on the trading desk. (http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Finance/Collapse-Amaranth%20Advisors-Case%20Studies.htm#Risk_Management)The risk managers were well qualified and had advance degrees. Paul Touradji, founder and managing partner of Touradji Capital Management, said was obvious about risk control and not about commodities. Touradji admitted that he exited the natural gas market for a year because Amaranth had entered the market, comparing its presence with that of well-financed poker player sitting down with poorer players and making big bets. I cant think of a right counterstrategy other than to say, I am going to be at the bar until youre done, Touradji said. (http://www.hedgefundintelligence.com/Event.aspx?ProductID=7035ElementID=4983, 2006) Problems Diversification is the key element of all investment portfolios. It reduces the unsystematic risk of instability in any part of the economy. Amaranth specialized in the natural gas industry so much that it failed to realise that if it took any incorrect venture at any point in time, it would not have to face severe consequences. This is counted as a factor of poor risk management. One of the biggest issues with hedge funds is that there is lack of transparency for investors and they have no idea as to what the fund is doing with their money. Most hedge funds make money with the performance fees that are generated when the fund achieves larger gains; the bigger the gains the larger the fees for the hedge funds. If the funds stays still or falls, the performance fee is exactly the same. This type of fee structure can force hedge fund traders to implement exceedingly risky strategies. Much of the blame for what happened to Amaranth is being put on Brian Hunters, although he had a strategy, experience and understanding in the natural gas market; which worked well with various weather shocks, but the fund manager failed to take into account the rise in storage capacity of natural gas. The arrival of a relatively warm winter did not raise the demand of natural gas as much as in the previous years. These factors did not increase the price of natural gas as much, thus creating problems for Amaranth which has a long position. Amaranth was operating on a high leverage. As told earlier, Amaranth was operating on an 8:1 of debt to equity ratio. This amplified the credit problems for Amaranth because once it started facing liquidity problems; it ran out of cash to maintain its cash flows. After its collapse but before liquidating, Amaranth placed restrictions on its investors to withdraw holdings of cash. That is, they were allowed to withdraw for certain number of days but were required to submit the amount before the end of the term because inability to do so resulted in a penalty. Investors were not allowed their savings beyond 7.5% of their savings. (MORGENSON ANDERSON, September 20, 2006). The bankruptcy of funds causes damage to a number of individuals and companies that have their stake with them. In the Case of Amaranth, Morgan Stanley, invested $126 million, or about 5 percent, of its $2.3 billion funds of hedge funds in Amaranth. Even New York Fed Governor Timothy F. Geithner warned that hedge fund failures could hurt market participants other than those investors and lenders who have chosen to do business directly with those funds. (Mufson, 2006). This is because the instability created in the market (because of the bankruptcy of the company and the loss of a lot of people) can result in a systemic risk, which influences other sectors as well. It is commonly said that Amaranths systems did not measure risks correctly and did not take steps that would reduce the risk. The risk models that were employed by hedge funds use historic data, but the natural gas markets in 2006 were more volatile than any other year since 2001, making models less useful. A managing director of Lyster Watson Co, an advisory firm that invests in hedge funds for clients but not with Amaranth said, It was a total failure of risk control to put your entire business at risk and not seem to know it. They were more leveraged than they realised. (Davis, Sender, Zuckerman, 2006). Lessons to be learnt Derivatives as we know are risky sources of investments, and there a number of lessons that one can learn from the incident of Amaranth. Before making an investment (esp. in sector fund) it is important to analyze the performance of the sector relating to the profits and losses, during the past few years. A monthly sector analysis reveals that a -24% monthly loss is normal and the monthly volatility of the energy strategies was around 12% (Till, 2006), therefore due consideration should be made by investors before investing in such an industry. The second factor that fund managers should consider is of marketability or liquidity, which is the ease with which the contracts can be sold into the market again. The exchange traded futures market of natural gas contracts is way smaller than the over-the-counter natural gas positions. This should put the question in investors minds that in case the market of natural gas declines so how will they sell their contracts and liquidate their position. The strategy of Amaranth did not include an exit strategy. The following case of MotherRock also proves this point. Before the fall of Amaranth, on August 2, 2006 MotherRock, a natural-gas-oriented hedge fund had announced that it was shutting down, its losses had reached up to $300 million; it had made a wrong short position and was therefore forced to liquidate due to mounting losses. This should have sent alarming bell to the investors in Amaranth to secure their position in the market and they make sure that the dont face liquidity risk in near future (liquidity risk explained later). All successful investors have an exit strategy as part of their main strategy; liquidity is one of the four core factors to consider when investing in the market, these factors are risk, return, liquidity and maturity. Liquidity risk includes the risk that liabilities cannot be met when they fall due and can only be met at an uneconomic price. This risk can be accounted for by widening the bid/offer spread. An institution might lose liquidity if its credit ratings fall, it experiences sudden unexpected cash outflows or some other event that causes the counterparties to avoid trading with or lending to the institution. A firm can also be exposed to liquidity risk if markets on which it depends are subject to loss of liquidity. Liquidity risk tends to compound other risks. If a trading organization has a position in an illiquid asset, its limited ability to liquidate that position at short notice will compound its market risk. Suppose a firm has offsetting cash flows with two different parties on a given day. If the counterparty that owes it a payment defaults, the firm will have to raise cash from other sources to make its payment. Should it be unable to make its payment, it will default too. Here liquidity risk is compounding credit risk. A position can be hedged against market risk, through diversification of the portfolio by including assets with different unsystemic risks, but still has liquidity risk. Amaranths investments were high-risk funds that lacked liquidity due to the nature of the natural gas futures market. They did not have any counter party to take their position under a week, when they needed it most. One reason that can explain this liquidity problem is that the counter parties had already locked their position in the forward contracts relating to production or storage. It seemed that due to their past experience, of success in assuming long position in winters and short position in summers, Amaranth failed to anticipate the liquidity risk they were getting into by being unable to find a counter party. (Till, 2006). This was the job of the funds risks managers to employ scenario analysis based on this past events. Taking all the factors mentioned above proves that Amaranth was taking immense risk with respect to liquidity. Amaranth was giving the natural gas comodity market a service by providing liquidity to the participants who cou