The privatization of SOEs - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 12 Words: 3487 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Economics Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? The privatization of SOEs has over time been a big and important issue in the development of the economy. This has lead to the development of many theories which explains the ideas behind what is expected practically expected and the principle on which privatization exercises are based. This chapter will however will discuss the relevant theoretical and empirical literatures of this study by focusing on objectives and rationale. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The privatization of SOEs" essay for you Create order This involves critically examining the theories that have been developed over time by different authors and how their impact privatization as regards the objectives of this study. This will also state why privatization is vital for the growth and development of some sectors and why, it will not in some other sectors within the economy. Finally, analysis on how privatization affects the performance of the industry and company in question will also be discussed. 3.2 Factors Determining Privatization SOE were highly inefficient and grow at a very slow pace, too much bureaucratic issue that can cause no room for innovation and were also subject to constant government political intervention as well as administration change. It is also over dominated by the power of Labor Trade Union (Veljnovski 1987). However after the successful privatization of BT in 1984 by the Thatchers administration, it became an economic policy that can be used to reduce the political pressure that exist within the SOEs such as inefficient use of financial and operational performances but could this be a means to wealth creation for investors, who through the spread and acquisition of shares ownership, restructuring and refocusing of SOEs economic objectives as well as cutting of labor Trade Unions influence and power will maximize profit. An argument that must be stressed here is that of the difficulty in interpreting the indictors of financial performance which might tell us little directly about eith er the performance within and outside the business environment economy. Take for example; poor financial performance may be consistent with high rate of internal efficiency if the formal is as a result of government policy of price control. However, since SOEs frequently respond to anticipated market failures, profit maximization and similar related measures might not necessary, be a reliable indicator for their poor performances over time (Ramanadham 1993). Rather this study will support that failure of SOEs, could be as a result of rapid demand for their goods and services faced by their steady but slow growth to reach maximum productivity movement rather than to totally shift production function ton scale was relative to their poor operational and financial performance. Yarrow (1986), however argued against privatization stating that competition and more forceful accountability will even be better than privatization in promoting both financial and operational efficiency but hi s argument has a limitation, it only focused on a small number of company within UK. Ramanadham (1993) pointed out that the objective of privatization is realized more if it becomes successful within a short period of time either by stock market price rise or increase in the level of efficiency or productivity bringing about instance economic growth and development. But when reverse is the case if it fails, which happens some time which even makes the impact of privatization becomes more undesirable. So it is best to set up a good regulatory frame work to remedy the situation when the objectives of privatization are not met in the short term to increase the firms level of efficiency through prize cap which also has its own disadvantage. In a further argument by Megginson et al (1994) whose strong support from recent theoretical and empirical perspective, that private firms will always outperform SOEs stating that privatization itself will always increase both the financial and op erational efficiency of firms irrespective of the business environment.  While another view by Moore (1992) who argued that the act of privatization promotes economic efficiency and public confidence (one of the major objectives of property right theory) in the system of industrial capitalism and thus SOEs should be sold off before efficiency gains can be realized. He also argued that the success of privatization transforms business attitude towards ownership, economic responsibility and towards improvement of corporate performances. It also allows government play an important role of regulation leaving the ownership of firms in the hand of investors and individuals who will perform better as there are more faced with scare resource and the market forces. It is clear now that different factors can lead to privatization especially when SOEs has underperformed both financially and operationally causing government political pressure, budget deficit and waste of scare resource and even administrative failure. 3.4 Evaluation of the theories of Privatization Principal Agent Theory Vickers and Yarrow (1995) points out that a problem exist in the principal agent theory as the principal interest greatly lies in profit making and so its interest might conflict with that of the agent who might pursue other objective apart from profitability. Further stating that since the formal do not have full information concerning what is happening within the SOE and cannot fully control the attitude of the agents who might be over ambitious and purse his own objectives. This will certainly create monitoring problems for the principal. This in fact creates both financial and operational problems directly or indirectly in some cases as the agents pursed objective might even be very different from the original objectives set to be achieved. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.am looking for more explanation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. However when shareholders can influence the behaviors of agents (management) through vote as the only way to keep them in check to work at an efficient level in order to be focused on the set objective and maximize profit. On the other hand when the rate of efficiency increases, it leads to higher revenue which is mostly one of the objectives, to brings about higher income and dividend for its shareholders. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.needs more explanation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Property Right Theory This is a set of right to control assets. It is a consequently grants of authority made to an investor or a group of investors through right of issue of share or control either public or private and acknowledged by other persons or organizations (Lindblom, 1977) De Soto (2006) argues that lack of formal property right is what has kept developing economies from been developed stating that it limits the amount of goods and services that can be exchanged in the market in order to have a sustainable long term economy growth. While Easterly (2001) opinion quite similar, to the views of Soto suggests that property right is a significant factor for long term economy growth. This is due to the fact that property right creates a very strong incentive for investors to even invest since there are certain about the ownership of such properties. As a matter of fact in most case it is true that mangers of most SOE and even privatized organizations are more concerned with their salaries, the gro wth and development, and reputation of the organization rather than achieving the objectives of the firms. The property right theory has an objective of promoting work incentive within SOEs solving employees negligent attitude towards work. However, lack of competition and monopoly power contributes a major factor to why this employees are negligent towards work which is a major fact to why most SOE perform absolutely poor and a leading factor to privatization.  The major focus of this theory is the given control right to manage asset in order to achieve the set objectives which is mainly to create employment and basic amenities for its citizens for SOEs while for private firm is profit maximization. However a standard property right approach to public and private ownership acknowledges that there are agency problems in all forms of ownership, but because ownership is transferable through a competitive capital market in the private sector, a better use of resource will resul t. However this theory claims that managing by the shareholders would be more efficient than monitoring through political process. It further emphasizes upon the reduction of property right both where public ownership exists and explores the sequences of property right for efficiency. However property right theory can contribute to the growth and development of the nation economy through the stock market if a formal structured and transparent legal frame work or intuitional policies are adopted and established to protect property right as well as an effective regulatory body to monitor each transaction. The Maximizing Privatization Revenue Theory This theory sets out the assumption about the information between the government and the buyers on the true value of the firm to be privatized assuming that the investor (Buyer) do not have enough information about the firm profitability. However the theory predicts that the government sale off of existing SOEs will see to a continuous performance of the function of profit maximization of such firm. Since the SOE management reports to the relevant government ministry about its financial and operational performance, the government will be able to extract all the information it gets and obtain a reasonable sales price that will equally reflect the true value of the existing SOE before it is privatized. The bottom line is that as buyer observes the sale of the first SOE, their reaction towards investing in the second SOEs will so much depend upon what premium shareholders were able to make in the first deal. Public Choice This theory is concerned more directly with actual behavior in the public sector. The core argument is that politicians and state bureaucrats purse their own objectives rather than the public interest. (Downs, 1967; Niskanen, 1971; Buchanan, 1972; Blankart, 1983). Here policies are arranged to maximize politicians political own objectives such as votes to retain political power and SOEs are given extensive Budgets so that bureaucrats will benefit from better jobs and higher salaries (Migue and Belanger, 1974). Also public monitoring of spending is inhibited†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Benefit and Cost Theory This theory argues that privatization will increase market share because privately owned enterprises have better incentives to produce goods and services in what quality and quantity the consumers would desire more. However in this case the companies who tend to succeed are the ones that will be able to meet consumers needs (market demand and supply forces). Also it is believed that the discipline of the capital market creates an avenue for additional resources and growth to an extent, depends on the past financial and operation performances. This theory then believes that with privatization, the consumers will dictate what their what should be produced rather than the government choosing which mostly reflects short term political pressure and problems the management of public sector capital requirement. 3.5 Empirical Evaluation of Privatization In an the work of Boardman and Vining (1989), the 1983 empirical examination of a sample size of 500 largest mining and manufacturing firms based on sales per employee and per asset after controlling for regulation and competition within the business environment concluded that private firms are more efficient and profitable compared to SOEs. This could also be as a result of the pressure from the market environment competition and possible takeover as a result underperformance especially when the government is running at so many deficits in the firm or sector. While in another empirical study by Steven et al (1999) proved an empirical evidence on how political factor impact the offer of shares pricing, allocation. After examining a sample of 630 Share option privatization from about 53 countries, it became clear that even when government do not longer interfere with the daily administration (operating activities), to private owners in the initial share offer it still have veto powe rs through the golden share strategy to cancel or accepts some policy change that might occur in order to protect national interest. Megginson et al (1994), further explained that the restructuring that occurs prior to the privatization exercise takes place to motivates employees to work towards attaining efficiency by cutting cost, maximizing productivity and profitability to increase both financial and operational performances. However BT share issues as suggest by Redwood (1988) did more than just to enable Britain to establish the worlds first largest scale privatization program but it also led to the intervention of part of popular capitalism in the country. The ideas of seeking a large new generation of small savers came out of immediate need of a marketing campaign to sell the worlds largest ever equity offering to individuals or investors to own a direct stake of SOEs. This made the use of privatization program as a means of extending share ownership among work force of S OEs and to the public at last as it became clear that the privatization exercise is an economic policy for growth and development. However this method of privatization was used in UK, during the privatization of BT, was more than every other thing politically motivated by the Thatchers Administration in order to retain power powers in the coming elections. However Boycko et al (2003) examined and discovered that SOE are often persistently unprofitable because their objective is to maximize employment and create quality goods and services for its local citizens rather that maximization of profit to create wealth for its shareholders. But this is also attributed to political interference by the government and the incentive subsides to SOEs managers to reduce input prices and implicit guarantees to cover operating losses and the constant demand from labor unions. Megginson et al 2003 suggest in terms of efficiency, when SOEs are privatized and then competition sets in, the gov ernment would expect a trade off. This will result into the cancellation of non economic objectives from the privatized SOEs rather a force from the new investors to employ all their resources more efficiently because when efficiency is not applied to the existing resources there would be no further improvement and therefore a failure in the financial and operating performance. However when the opposite is done there will be a positive growth level over short term and long term both in the return on capital employed and employee performances in productivity. However in term of capitals structure most articles (ref) has argued that because privatized firms have more access to public fund through the capital market, this can become a possibility to increase capital base for them to spend in the restructuring of the privatized SOEs in order to meet up with the already existing privatized firms in the industry or if it is the first privatized firm in the industry as at then, to meet up with restructuring and innovation as it might face competition soon enough. Furthermore, the now there will be pressure on the rational use of resource especially financial resources politically attractive goods and service will be cut off to produce economic goods and services that will boast return on capital employed as well as innovative new products that will expand market coverage and increase market share will be encouraged. 3.6 Impacts of Privatization on Companys Performance The impact of privatization is a direct result that is linked to the method of privatization. The problem identified with it is that in some cases it is hard to identify such result differently from the result which may be associated from other economic circumstances like a more liberal regulatory policies, change in management policies or sudden use of idle capacities that may have contributed to improved performance rather than the privatization exercise itself. However this study focuses on only the circumstances induced as a result of the privatization exercise which in some cases are almost immediate and other case may take a longer time.  For instance this could be from lay off of labor forces to increase in share prices or restructuring of the existing management style. The best way to examine the impact of privatization could be to divide it into two aspects, one from the inside angle (how this has changed the financial and operational performance) and the other the ou tside angle (how this has changed the companys performance in relation to other firms in the sector and the economy at large) Operational Privatization can affect the performance of a company based on an assumption that once a firm start existing in a private setting it will be subject to strong, constant and challenging pressure to performance efficiently because it is now faced with a rapid, changing and very competitive business environment where it has tom struggle for resource and market share to survive. Privatization can be an effective way to bring about fundamental structural change by formalizing and establishing property right which directly creates strong individual incentives (Filipovic 2005). The processes of privatization that involves sale of shares to employees, labor  unions, local investors make this investor to work more efficiently to cut cost and make more profit which will reflect in dividends or share prices. However privatization will promote competition and increase efficiency especially in situation where the government relevant regulatory authorities cap the pricing of a service of product. Little Child†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ However economist like Vickers and Yarrow (1998), suggest that privatization may not increase efficiency without competition. But some privatized industries like the telecoms, are usually now oligopolistic, rather than going into price wars that will increase their levels of efficiency will rather agree to fix price within them. They argue that cost reduction may be too small to outweigh the benefits of competition. Moreover Martin and Parker (1997), believes that being exposed to competition does not necessary make privatization in the UK more successful. However another issue that leads to privatization is the response to the failures associated with SOEs (Parker and Saal, 2003). Megginson and Netter (2001), outlined some of the theoretical arguments on the advantage of private ownerships compared to SOEs stating first that contracting ability affects the efficiency of SOEs, then there is an advantage to the goal of shareholders weal th maximization and it provides a well defined goal that guides a firm policy. On the other side government has many objectives other than profit.  These objectives can change from one administration to another hence the inability of government to be committed credibly can significantly reduce the efficiency of SOEs operations and administrations. In addition the government goals can be inconsistent with efficiency, maximizing social welfare or even malicious. However Littlechild (?) in his argument believes that they could be a danger associated with identifying what objectives should be achieved in this new business environment (Post Privatization) clearly focusing on defined objectives. He further went ahead to induce a price cap method that can encourage efficiency by putting a cap on profit margin to encourage minimization of production cost and increase in efficiency in order to make more profit. This was going to be reviewed from time to time to ensure that go with econo mic situation within the business environment. The weakness associated with this was that there were no incentives for the manager to work more efficiently as †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..The impact of privatization on a firm can also range from productive efficiency, competition allocative efficiency (Kay et al 1986). Manne (1965) argues that the incentive for productive efficiency comes with the aim to maximize profit and stay in business within the strong hold of competition in the business environment and corporate control. After much analyzes and this study can argue that in most cases one can believe that it might be that privatize firm will not perform better than SOE expect for the fact that due to the competition created as a result of privatization that leads to market pressure, private firms will then strive to survive within the market environment in order not to be takeover and bankrupted or even die off (Pryke 1982) However the performance of company as a result of privatization can be affected either by the controlling share the new investor have because some vital sectors been privatized by the government cab not be totally left in the hands of private investors because the vital role it might play in the economy. In this situation, both parties most agree to a set objective or any policy change that can lead to improving the financial or operational performance of a firm. Thus the distinguishing feature of the different methods and objectives of privatization, in comparison with a firms performance post privatization will determine to a greater extend the performance of a said firm. For instance the full or partial privatization of a firm through share option method, can see different investors or group investors with different objective to invest which in some case can lead failure depending on what percentage each investor has or the lobby power or even voting right one investor or groups of investor can have to bring about a p olicy change through restructuring the production resources or reduction of work force. This is the more reason why in most privatization exercise the government tries and owns the majority share in order to still be in control of deciding what objectives to achieve. However the problem with this is that it become too political as government will only vote for policies that will only serve their own purpose without considering the investor entrepreneur skill and objectives of wealth maximization

Beowulf And The Epic Hero - 1407 Words

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Essay on Fredrick Douglas - 1115 Words

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Quote: â€Å"A want for information concerning my own was a source of unhappiness to me even during childhood. The white children could tell their ages. I could not tell why I ought to be deprived of the same privilege.† (17) B. External Conflict 1. The struggleRead MoreEssay about Fredrick Douglas And Harriet Jacobs1717 Words   |  7 Pageson to the immorality and injustice of slavery on black people. Another problem slave owners had with literate slaves was the potential for them to educate other slaves and give them thoughts of escaping or helping other slaves escape. Frederick Douglas and Harriet Jacobs both wrote of this in their books. Douglass was separated from his mother at an early age in order to prevent any feelings of attachment to her. His father was a white man, he might have been the man responsible for separating

Physics Of Bowling Essay - 1188 Words

Physics Of Bowling The one thing that interests me is bowling. I have been playing all my life and after a whole semester and a half of being in Mr. Fetter’s class, I realized that everything has physics in it. One night after going bowling with my girlfriend(s) I wondered why when I hit the first pin, only seven went down and thus I lost the game. So, I got on the Internet and found a lot of articles and web sites talking about the physics of bowling. A lot of the web sites were brief descriptions. A guy named Paul Durbin wrote many articles on physics. One of his articles he discussed was about bowling. He mentioned one thing we already went over this semester in physics class. But it seems to me that he neglected to mention other†¦show more content†¦You may let go of the bowling ball at a constant speed, but its velocity is not constant because of the change in direction every instant. The balls state of motion is changing. It’s accelerating! Now you can see why it is importa nt to know the difference between speed and velocity, and why acceleration is defined as the rate of change of velocity, rather than speed. Acceleration is like velocity, its directional. If you were to change your arms speed or direction, or even both, you change velocity and you accelerate. Just remember acceleration = change of velocity/time interval. The one thing that’s cool about pool is that wooden alley that’s always shiny. The alley is made out of fine wood and is usually shined up. The alley seems to be the friction that slows a ball down. Even when a single force is applied to an object, it is usually not the only force affecting the motion. This is because of friction. Friction is a force that always acts in a direction to oppose motion. When you let go of the ball one way, the air resistance is coming the opposite direction. Let go of the bowling ball and you can see it in motion. If an object moves, the by virtue of that motion it is capable of doing work. It has energy in motion, or kinetic energy. The kinetic energy of an object depends on the mass of the object as well as its speed. KE =  ½mv ². When you let go of that bowling ball, you do work on it to give it speed to get that nice rotation. TheShow MoreRelatedEssay on Physics of Bowling909 Words   |  4 Pages) sports out there, many aspects of bowling can be expressed with physics. Achieving maximum power, throwing a hook ball, and getting good pin action can all be broken down into physics issues and represented with equations. I will cover four aspects of bowling that can be explained with physics terms and show you how to use this knowledge to optimize your game. Gravitational Potential Energy Depending on the height from which the bowler drops the bowling ball, the ball will have a certain amountRead MoreEssay on The Physics of Bowling1766 Words   |  8 PagesThe Physics of Bowling The definition of physics by some may be the science that deals with matter, energy, motion, and force. Therefore everything in the world uses physics in some way or another. One of the numerous things that deal with physics is bowling. Some of the major parts of physics bowling has is the motions, the ways that Newton’s laws apply, the different momentums, and the energy. Other physics topics include torque, pendulum theory and collisions. In the motion of bowlingRead MoreEssay about The Physic of Paintball1567 Words   |  7 PagesThe Physic of Paintball I.The Fundamentals of the Game of Paintball. Paintball is a sport that is still fairly new in the world being not much more that a decade old. This game as with other sports would not be possible without physics. Physics is essential to the game of paintball. Some of physics that are involved in paintball are pressurized gas, projectile motion, and the impulse of being hit by a paintball. As with all sports there is necessary equipment needed to play. The mostRead MoreThe Great Minds Of The 17th Century Scientific Revolution1206 Words   |  5 Pagesdiscoveries in optics, motion and mathematics, all while developing the principles of modern physics. In 1687, he published his most honored work, Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), which has been noted as the single most significant book on physics. Without the laws Newton identified, we would not be where we are today in terms of modern physics. Things we know and things we see as basic to the world wouldn’t be possible: modern technologyRead MoreScene Analysis - The Big Lebowski1516 Words   |  7 Pages Student Name: Fan Ho Nga, Gloria Student ID: 52948216 â€Å"Scattering Donny’s Ashes† Scene in The Big Lebowski (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1998) The Big Lebowski (1998) by the Coen Brothers is no doubt a comedy film about friendships between three bowling buddies with differing personalities who met and stuck together as friends by choice in Los Angeles when the U.S. army invaded the Middle East. The Coen Brothers managed to capture the spirit of friendship bonding, conflicts, characters’ internalRead MoreEssay about Black Holes1467 Words   |  6 Pagesor line around it exists. If any object crosses this line, it can no longer escape the gravitational force of the black hole (Hawking, 87). This line is called the event horizon (Hawking, 87). If black holes are proven to exist, beyond theoretical physics, then they would probably be a very common anomaly in this universe. In 1915, Albert Einstein put forth the first real proposition of such an anomaly in his â€Å"Theory of Relativity† (Bunn, Black Holes FAQ). In the 1930s, three physicists, doctors VolkoffRead MoreRelativity Essay1956 Words   |  8 Pagesin physics that can be basically implies that space and time are one in the same. This is absolutely counterintuitive to classical physics which has the two as completely different entities. Relativity can be separated into two basic concepts: Special and General Relativity. Within Relativity the fundamental concept above all else is that space and time are intertwined with each other in the universe as a fabric called space-time. Simply put, Special Relativity deals with the laws of Physics whenRead MoreThe Laws Of Motion And Bouncing Balls1676 Words   |  7 Pagesthe ball then for less than half a second the ball will stop and the energy from the bat will propel the ball in the opposite direction. Another example of his second law is a game of bowling. The energy from your arm is transferred into the bowling ball to harder you swing the faster it goes. When it hits the bowling pins the energy is then transferred into them which make the pins fly back in the opposite direction. Newtons third law which is Reciprocity means that there is an equal and oppositeRead MoreThe Physics Of Golf Ball3380 Words   |  14 Pages Fore! A Newtonian and Projectile Motion Study of the Golf Swing Physics Around Campus Tim Stoddard Physics 102 Spring 2015 Figure 1 below depicts a snap shot of the compact and physics-ridden entity known as a golf swing. 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Georges Trains A Conservative Approach Free Essays

It will recommend areas of improvement to endure success. Lastly, this paper revised conclusion on the overall capital budgeting analysis Of George’s Trains. Key words: working capital, investing conservatively, pitfalls Working Capital Practices of George’s Trains George’s of George’s Trains started his business as a conservative investor. We will write a custom essay sample on Georges Trains A Conservative Approach or any similar topic only for you Order Now He understood and applied this practice properly; as a low-risk, low-return strategy. As an investor, George understood the two definitions by which to invest conservatively. First, a conservative investment is one that carries the greatest likelihood of preserving the purchasing power of one’s capital with the least amount of risk. Second, George knew what a conservative investment was, and then followed the course of action needed to properly determine whether particular investments are indeed conservative investments (Gad, 2014). George did not have the background as an entrepreneur so he needed to have a safety factor to be able to weather market storms better than his competitors is. With this, he needs to have a low cost of production (Gad, 2014). When a bad year hits George’s Trains, the chance of still churning out a profit or reporting a smaller net loss is achievable. A company that cannot compete by staying abreast of market hanged and trends is doomed in the end. George realized this and moved to expanding his product line outside of a one-man band – trains! Finally, management should possess financial skill (Gad, 2014). George relied on his bank and trending past years as well as utilizing the books from the previous owner. In doing this, George is able to maximize his return on investment capital, and other important components of business success (Gad, 2014). Beware Of Potential Pitfalls George realizes that model trains are seasonal. With that in mind, George orders inventory based on demand and utilizes past reports on trends. When business is slow, he decreases his inventory so he is not tying up his capital. When he sells an item, he makes sure that the replacement is ordered before the shelf is empty. This ensure maximum cash flow in his business. Managing working capital is the operational side of budgeting. When businesses put a budget together, they anticipate future cash flow and the timing of that cash flow. This planning is critical, especially in small businesses and practices (Kelly, 2014). Another pitfall that George realized was â€Å"The people Factor† (Moody, 2014). He realized that in order to be successful he added to cultivate his loyal customer’s that used to come to his home business, as well as building a broader base. How to cite Georges Trains A Conservative Approach, Papers

The once and future king free essay sample

King Arthur of the Arthurian legends is one of the most unique characters in the history of literature. Since he has been depicted by a variety of writers, there is more than a single description of his personality. The Arthur we know is actually a conglomerate of many different interpretations of one character. For this reason, his character and very person havent been too consistent through the legends. The earliest Arthurian Legends which are also some of the earliest medieval works, describe King Arthur as the traditional Anglo-Saxon war hero; but as the time goes by, and the medieval people start to admire different things, he evolves into a different kind of hero, a chivalric one. Thus, over time, the image of King Arthur has changed from that of an epic hero to one of a symbol of chivalry- this is apparent with the difference in characteristic depiction of King Arthur in the early story of Brut and a later legend, Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, here there is a noticeable change in his personality. The earliest depiction of King Arthur was that of a fierce warrior-king, brutal and unforgiving. The early medieval kings were warlords who surrounded themselves with nobles and knights- called thanes, and protected their lands from foreign invaders through bloody wars and battles. The original Arthurian legends portray King Arthur in such a role- he is frequently described as â€Å"Arthur the powerful† or â€Å"Arthur the brave† and often comes across as bloodthirsty; not unlike Beowulf in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf. In reality, these early legends were the Anglo-Saxon cultural perspective of King Arthur. One example of such an Anglo-Saxon view of King Arthur is Brut by Layamon, a British priest; in his poem, he describes Arthur as a savage and fierce warrior, an object of dread to friend and enemy, an epic hero. This is evident in Brut- where in one of his speeches where Arthur curses his enemies, wanting to crush them all: Then said Arthur, noblest of kings: â€Å"Alas, alas, that I spared my foe, that I did not starve him to death in the forest, or cut him to pieces with my sword! [ ] he shall suffer for it the most bitter affliction, harsh treatment I will be his slayer! I will slaughter both Colgrim and Baldof, and all their followers shall suffer death. [ ] I will fittingly avenge all his wicked deeds. If life might endure in my breast, [ ] never again shall Childric deceive me! † (lines 10510-10524) These lines show the brutality and unfettered heroism of King Arthur. His vexed and aggrieved speech about his enemys escape shows his unforgiving nature. Such is his anger that King Arthur wishes for the death of not only his enemies but also of all his followers; he even voices his regret of not having cut them to pieces, and wishes to kill them with his own sword. Not only does this speech show Arthurs merciless disposition, but it is also filled with a vengeance these lines of Arthur are a battle cry as he avows to get his revenge on his enemies. Towards the end of the speech, while vengefully vowing to avenge his defeat, King Arthurs tone is more than just distressed and agitated, it has a quality of firm determination and tenacity. All these aspects of Layamons perspective of King Arthur: determination, brutality, tenacity, vengeance, might and an unforgiving nature, all combined with the right amount of rage and conceit, show that he is, in all aspects, an epic hero. Akin to Beowulf -who with his strength, firmness and pride was the quintessential Anglo-Saxon warrior and champion- King Arthur is the ideal warrior-king. Eventually as literature progressed towards the heart of the Medieval Era, King Arthur evolved from an epic hero to a symbol of chivalric virtues of Camelot. He was no longer known as the brave and strong defender of the British, but as the virtuous upholder of all chivalric values in the great court at Camelot. Contradicting the early medieval stories which revolved around King Arthur, these middle Arthurian Legends portray the king as a minor character whose presence is only felt indirectly as a representative of a chivalry and excellency. This is apparent in the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, where Arthur is but a role model for all the knights when it comes to courtly behavior. The knights regard him with a reverence for his lordly ways. When the Green Knight rudely interrupts their feast by barging into their dining hall, all of them remain silent, in anger and in dread, while King Arthur welcomes him graciously as it is seen in the following excerpt from the poem: â€Å" Therefore chary of answer was many a champion bold, And stunned at his [The green knights] strong words stone-still they sat [ ] Then Arthur before the high dais that entrance beholds, And hailed him, as behooved, for he had no fear, And said, â€Å"Fellow, in faith you have found fair welcome;† (lines 20-30) These lines perfectly demonstrate how King Arthur exhibits model knightly behavior. Even though this intruder has disturbed his celebratory feast, he does not lose his temper, instead he follows the first rule of chivalry – hospitality. As we see in this text, the other knights, who sat â€Å"stone still† and â€Å"chary of answer†, do nothing to welcome the new-comer amongst their midst; nevertheless, Arthur does his duty and warmly invites the Green Knight to his court (line 21, line 20). In this way we see how King Arthur has unmatched manners in the court of Camelot- this is the most distinguished factor about him in this story, as the main focus of this legend is on Sir Gawain and his quest. Thus, we can say that King Arthurs one and only role in Sir Gawain and The Green Knight is to set a standard for his knights in social behavior, to remind them of the rules of Camelot. These lines demonstrate Arthurs gallant manner, they also show that Knights of the Round Table have a high place in their minds for him. While they dreaded even speaking to the alarming stranger, their revered King Arthur, who is described as one who â€Å"had no fear†, welcomed him graciously (line 29). Thus, King Arthur is greatly admired by his Knights because they still thought of him as the fearless king of old and also because of his valiant and courtly behavior. This fact greatly impacts most stories of this time because Arthur has a great influence over the Knights of Camelot and most of these stories follow their bold and daring quests. Even if the king, in these legends, seems removed from the thick of the plot line, his presence is still felt from afar, as a social force – for it has already been established that the Knights admired and imitated his social manner and his lordly ways. This remote influence, too, can be observed in the story of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight where King Arthur is neither the the protagonist of the story nor the source of all action, but is the highest authority and the inspiration for Sir Gawain to take up the challenge posed by the Green Knight. This inspiration is noticed when Sir Gawain accepts this quest, â€Å"Would you grant me the grace,† said Gawain to the king, â€Å"To be gone from this bench and stand by you there, [ ] That I have you for uncle is my only praise; My body, but for your blood, is barren of worth;† (lines 117-131). Through Sir Gawains speech we can see that the reason that he is taking up this quest is to be a delegate for Camelot. He says that he wishes to â€Å"stand by† King Arthur, that is, represent him on this quest(line 117). This further establishes the fact that King Arthur is not the main character of the story, as it is Sir Gawain who is the one who actually undertakes the quest. Thus, in this legend, and many others written during this time period, King Arthur turns into a minor character in sharp contrast to the earlier legends which depicted him as the brave warrior at the head of his armies in every battlehe is no longer the main character but his presence is still felt as a significant influence for Sir Gawain to take up this quest. However, as discussed before, the Knights of Camelot, including Gawain, greatly admired Arthur for his chivalric ideals and manner. So it can be said that in the minds of them of the Round Table, King Arthur is simply a personification of all the values of chivalry which they want to uphold as knights. Sir Gawain especially looks to Arthur as a symbol of all knightly or chivalric virtues. He even humbly acclaims that if it werent for Arthurs blood running in him, he would be nothing, â€Å"barren of [his] worth† (line 131). This confirms the fact that Sir Gawain, and all the other knights use King Arthur as a reassurance, feeling that if they had the values of the king, they could do anything; for they has faith in King Arthur and his Round Table, in the chivalric values of Camelot. Therefore, from these examples present in the story if Sir Gawain and The Green Knight we can conclude that the Knights of the Round Table idolized King Arthur not because he was a warrior-king but because he was, to them, the embodiment of all the honorable values of being a knight. As we can see, there are many subtle differences between the two interpretations of King Arthur in the stories of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight and Brut. In the early legends Arthur is described as the fearless warrior-king, the defender of the Britons whereas the later legends depict him as a virtuous leader and the role model for all the Knights of Camelot. This transformation of King Arthurs character over time is very obvious when the texts from different time-periods are compared. In the early legend of Brut, King Arthur is an epic hero- he is the protagonist of the story. The legends of that era revolved around Arthur and his battles. As seen in the story Brut, he is unforgiving and blood thirsty; his thoughts are set on winning and bringing down his enemies rather than trying to settle the conflicts peacefully. This is in contrast to the King Arthur of the later legends, such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, who welcomes armed strangers into his castle. In the beginning of this story, when the Green Knight barges into the feast at Camelot on his horse, Arthur welcomes him warmly and invites him to dinner instead of getting insulted and punishing him. He comes across as easygoing and very level headed. Even in moments of anger, this King Arthur of later times remains calm and doesnt show his emotion; this is seen in the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, where he remains composed even in the face of danger (in this case- losing one of his best knights, Sir Gawain because of a strangers challenge). In lines 236 and 237 of this legend, it is seen that â€Å"Though high-born Arthur at heart had wonder, / he let no sign be seen [ ]†. Thus, in the later legends, King Arthur-who was a symbol of chivalric virtues and courtly manners- controlled his emotions and remained unruffled when he was challenged. This characteristic of the chivalric King Arthur is distinctly different from the earlier perspectives of him in such legends as Brut. This early King Arthur who was an epic hero, was a most forbidding character, he clearly expressed his anger and was often described as â€Å"stern-minded† (line 111). In Brut, King Arthur often asserted his anger, especially during battles when his mind bore nothing but hatred towards his enemy- â€Å"He laid the shield to his breast; the king was bursting with anger. He smote Borel the earl right through the breast, So that his heart was split. Arthur cried at once: The foremost hath met his fate! Now the Lord help you! † (lines 112-115). These lines show King Arthurs frustration and his hatred and also portray how he openly displays his anger. In sharp contrast to the calm and composed Arthur of the later time-periods, this excerpt from an older legend shows that he was â€Å"bursting with anger†, clearly portraying how the epic hero Arthur did not control his emotions(line 112). In this way, we can see that King Arthurs temperament has changed from vengeful and impulsive to poised and chivalric between the two legends. Overall it is discernible that the kings personality and characteristics have changed over time and this is especially apparent when comparing two works from different time-periods. In this way we can see that the characteristic depiction of King Arthur has evolved over time from a fearless battle hero to a chivalric and virtuous ruler. The early Arthurian legends such as Brut, which were written when poems like Beowulf were popular, described Arthur as an epic hero. But as the time passed by and the virtues of chivalry came into being, the Arthurian legends of that time, such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, started to reflect the social focus and began to depict Arthur as an expert in chivalrous values. Thus, it is seen that King Arthurs role in the legends continually changes as the peoples general perspective of a hero changes. The tales of King Arthur have been shaped and reshaped according to the teller of the story. There is not just one perfect depiction of King Arthur, his character is a combination of many perspectives of him. It can be altered to adapt with the times as it has adapted through the Medieval Era. This â€Å"evolution† of his portrayal and the fact that he will never die are what make King Arthur one of the most exceptional characters in literature.