Translation and Interpreting Essay Example for Free

Translation and Interpreting Essay Introduction As I was preparing to put my ideas in order and reflect upon what I was going to write for my essay on International Communication, I suddenly remembered the last lecture on the subject. It was about translating and interpreting, so I figured out that an essay on the translation challenges in todays world would be a great idea to write about. I personally knew Dumitru Toncia, my sister-in-law relative, who had worked in the field for many years, so we had a meeting in which I took some interesting notes. He is specialized in English and French. There are a lot of definitions for International Communication, but I consider it to contain aspects of intercultural understandings, communicaton theory, intercultural communication, croscultural communication, mass communication, intercultural psychology, congnition psychology, area-study like society, culture, constitution, law, education, language etc Proper translation and interpreting has become more and more demanding, and this paper deals with the qualities translators or interpreters should posses in the international environment today. It also outlines some grammar and semantics issues that turn this filed into a real challenge. I hope the examples he drew from his experience in translation will give you an interesting insight into some of the most frustrating problems encountered when transferring ideas from one language to another. Taking part in the selection of candidates for translator jobs in international environments, Toncia has often been amazed by the fact that a number of candidates with a perfect knowledge of both the source and the target languages and an impressive mastery of the relevant field could be very poor translators indeed. Why is that? One of the human factors is the lack of modesty. The translators personality and intelligence interfere with the very humble task he has to perform. Instead of putting aside his own ideas, fantasies and style to follow blindly the authors, he merges, adds or transforms. Anyway, besides humility, candidates must possess two other qualities: judgment and flexibility. Judgment By judgment I mean the ability to solve a problem through wide knowledge of the field, through awareness that a problem exists and through taking into account the various levels of context. Wide knowledge of the field. Lets take the phrase to table a bill. The translator must know that if the original is in British English, it means to submit a bill i. e. a text proposed to become law to the countrys legislative body, in French deposer un projet de loi, but that if the author followed American usage, he meant to shelve, i. e. to adjourn indefinitely the discussion of the text, in French ajourner sine die lexamen du projet de loi Here is another example. The word heure in French can mean hour as well as oclock. To be able to translate correctly the French phrase une messe de neuf heures, you have to know that a Catholic mass lasting nine hours is extremely improbable, so that the translation is a nine oclock mass, and not a nine hour mass. Since the linguistic structure is exactly the same in un voyage de neuf heures, which means a nine hour journey, only knowledge of the average duration of a mass can help the translator decide. Awareness that a problem exists. When you become a professional translator, the chief development that occurs in you during your first three or four years consists in becoming aware of problems that you had no idea could exist. If you are transferred to another organization, the whole process will start anew for a few years because the new field implies new problems that are just as hidden as in your former job. Some people may know that in the history of international communication there was an organization called International Auxiliary Language Association. Well, if you ask people how they understand that title, you will realize that, for a number of them, it means international association dealing with an auxiliary language, whereas for others it means an association studying the question of an international auxiliary language. The interesting point lies not so much in the ambiguity as in the fact that most people are not aware of it. When exposed to the phrase, they immediately understand it in a certain way and they are not at all conscious that the very same words are susceptible to another interpretation and that their immediate comprehension does not necessarily reflect what the author had in mind. Similarly, most junior translators simply do not imagine that the words English teacher usually designate, not a teacher who happens to be a British citizen, but somebody who teaches English and can be Japanese or Brazilian as well from any English speaking country.. Taking into account the various levels of context. The English word repression has two conventional translations in French. In politics, the French equivalent is repression, whereas in psychology, it is refoulement. You might believe at first glance that translating it correctly is simply a matter of knowing to what field your text belongs. If it deals with politics, you use one translation, if with psychology another. Reality is not that simple. Your author may use the psychological sense within a broad political context. For instance, in an article dealing with the Stalin era, you may have a sentence beginning with Repression by the population of its spontaneous critical reactions led to In this case, although the text deals with politics, the sentence deals with psychology. The narrow context is at variance with the broad context. Flexibility Besides judgment, the other quality I mentioned as indispensable to make an acceptable international translator is flexibility. This refers to the gymnastics aspect of translation work. Mastering the specialized field and the two relevant languages is not enough, you have to master the art of constantly jumping from one into the other and back. Languages are more than intellectual structures. They are universes. Each language has a certain atmosphere, a style of its own, that differentiates it from all others. If you compare such English expressions as software and, on a road sign, soft shoulder with their French equivalents, you realize that there is a very definite switch in the approach to communication. The French translations are respectively logiciel and accotements non stabilises. The English phrases are concrete, metaphorical, made up, with a zest of humor, from words used in everyday speech, although this does not contribute to better comprehension: knowing the meaning of soft and of shoulder does not help you to understand what a soft shoulder is. In French, the same meanings are conveyed by abstract and descriptive terms, which do not belong to everyday usage. You dont understand them either, but for a different reason: because they are based on too intellectual, too sophisticated, too unusual morphemes, so that most foreigners have to look up the words in dictionaries. The difficulty lies in the fact that this difference in approach has to be taken into account at the level, not only of words (a good dictionary may often solve that problem), but of sentences. Consider the sentence Private education is in no way under the jurisdiction of the government. It includes mostly English words of French origin, but common etymology does not imply a common way of expressing ones thoughts. In this case, a good French rendering would be Lenseignement libre ne releve en rien de lEtat. You will realize the importance of those differences in the approach to communication if you take the French sentence as the original and translate it literally into English. The result would be Free teaching does not depend in any way from the State, which means something quite different, especially to an American. In order to translate properly, you have to feel when and how to switch from one atmosphere to another. The problem is that with languages, you never know how you know what you know. If, in a text dealing with economic matters, a good translator meets the phrase the life expectancy of those capital goods, he knows because he feels that he has to translate it by la longevite des equipements. He also knows that when that same text mentions the consumers life expectancy, hell have to say, in French, esperance de vie, because the author for a while deals with a demographic concept which is included in his economic reasoning. But how does he know he knows? He doesnt know. This ability to adjust to the various approaches to reality or fantasy embodied in the different languages, linked to an ability to pass constantly back and forth, is what is called flexibility. This is the quality which is the most difficult to find when you recruit translators. We can now approach the same field from a different angle, asking ourselves the question: what are the problems built-in in languages that make judgment and flexibility so important in translation work? They relate to the grammar and the semantics of both the source and the target languages. Grammar The more a language uses precise and clear-cut grammatical devices to express the relationships among words and, within a given word, its constitutive concepts, the easier the task for the translator. The worst source languages for translators are thus English and Chinese. A Chinese sentence like ta shi qunian shengde xiaohair can mean both he (or she) is a child who was born last year and it was last year that she gave birth to a child. In English similar ambiguities are constant. In International Labor Organization, the word international refers to organization, as shown in the official French wording: Organisation internationale du Travail. But in another UN specialized agency, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the word international is to be related with aviation, not with organization, as shown, again, by the French version: Organisation de laviation civile internationale (and not Organisation internationale de laviation civile). This is legally and politically important, because it means that the organization is competent only for flights that cross national boundaries. It is not an international organization that deals with all problems of non-military flying. However, since the linguistic structure is similar in both cases, no text analysis can help the translator; he has no linguistic means to decide which is which. He has to refer to the constitution of the relevant organization. Many mistakes made by professional translators result from the impossibility, in English, to assign an adjective to its noun through grammatical means. When a translator rendered Basic oral health survey methods by Methodologie des enquetes fondamentales sur letat de sante bucco-dentaire, he was mistaken in relating the word basic to survey, whereas it actually relates to methods, but he should be forgiven, because only familiarity with the subject enables the reader to understand what refers to what. The correct translation was Methodologie fondamentale applicable aux enquetes sur letat de sante bucco-dentaire. Toncias wife teaches translation to American students who come to Geneva for one year. A standard translation task she gives them includes the subtitle Short breathing exercises. Every year, half her class understands exercises in short breathing, whereas the real meaning is short exercises in deep breathing. The fact that native speakers of English so consistently make the same mistake, although the context provides all the necessary clues, its still a wonder. The fact that, in English, the endings -s, -ed and -ing have several grammatical functions often complicates matters. In the sentence He was sorting out food rations and chewing gum, it is impossible to know if the concerned individual was chewing gum while sorting out food rations, or if he was sorting out two kinds of supplies: food, and chewing gum. Semantics Problems caused by semantics are particularly difficult for human translators. They are of two kinds: (1) the problem is not apparent; (2) the problem is readily seen, but the solution either requires good judgment or does not exist. An example of the first category is provided by the phrase malaria therapy. Since malaria is a well known disease, and therapy means treatment, a translator not trained in medical matters will think that it means treatment of malaria. But the semantic field of therapy is not identical with that of treatment, although this is not apparent if you simply consult a dictionary (Websters defines therapy as treatment of a disease). It would be too long to explain here the differences, but the fact is that malaria therapy should be rendered, not by traitement du paludisme, but by impaludation therapeutique or paludotherapie , because it means that the malaria parasite is injected into the blood to elicit a febrile reaction designed to cure the attacked disease, which is not malaria. In other words, it means treatment by malaria and not treatment of malaria. In the French version, published by Albin Michel, of Hammond Innes novel Levkas Man, one of the characters complains about les jungles concretes in which an enormous population has to live (Hammond, 1998, p.82). This does not make sense for the French reader. What the author meant by concrete jungles was jungles de beton, i. e. high-rise housing developments made of concrete. This is a case in which the translator was not aware of the existence of a semantic problem, namely that concrete has two completely unrelated meanings: a building material, and the opposite of abstract. An example of a semantic problem requiring good judgment is the word develop. It has such a wide semantic field that it is often a real nightmare for translators. It can mean setting up, creating, designing, establishing and thus refer to something that did not exist before. It can mean intensifying, accelerating, extending, amplifying, and thus express the concept making larger, which implies that the thing being developed has been concretely in existence for some time. But it can also mean tapping the resources, exploiting, in other words making use of something that has been having a latent or potential existence. In all other languages, the translation will vary according to the meaning, i. e.to that particular segment the author had in view within the very wide semantic field covered by the word. To know how to translate to develop such or such an industry, you have to know if the said industry already exists or not in the area your text is covering. In most cases, the text itself gives no clue on that matter. Only the translators general culture or his ability to do appropriate research can lead him to the right translation. Such a simple word as more can pose problems, because its semantic area covers both the concepts of quantity and of qualitative degree. What does more accurate information mean? Does it mean a larger amount of accurate information or information that has greater accuracy? And how can you translate cute into another language? The concept simply does not exist in most. Conversely, the French word frileux has no equivalent in English, so that a simple French sentence like il est frileux cannot be properly translated. Still, you can say he feels the cold terribly or he is very sensitive to cold. Although those are poor renderings, they are acceptable. What most resists translation is the adverbial form: frileusement. How can you translate il ramena frileusement la couverture sur ses genoux? You have to say something like He put the blanket back onto his knees with the kind of shivering movement typical of people particularly sensitive to cold. To those of you who might think that this is literary translation, something outside your field of research, I have to emphasize that descriptions of attitudes and behavior are an integral part of medical and psychological case presentations, so that the above sentence should not be considered unusual in a translators practice. An enormous amount of words, many of them appearing constantly in ordinary texts, present similar difficulties. Such words as commodity, consolidation, core, crop, disposal, to duck, emphasis, estate, evidence, feature, flow, forward, format, insight, issue, joint, junior, kit, maintain, matching, predicament, procurement and hundreds of others are quite easy to understand, but no French word has the same semantic field, so that their translation is always a headache. Dictionaries dont help, because they give you a few translations that never coincide with the concept as actually used in a text; in most cases the translations they suggest do not fit with the given context. Another case in point is provided by the many words that refer to the organization of life. You cannot translate Swiss Government by Gouvernement suisse, because the French word gouvernement has a much narrower meaning than the English one. In French, you have to say le Conseil federal or la Confederation suisse according to the precise meaning. The French word gouvernement designates what in English is often named cabinet. The English word government is one of the frustrating ones. You may render it by lEtat, les pouvoirs publics, les autorites, le regime or similar words, evaluating in each case what is closest to the English meaning, and you have to bear in mind that at times it should be sciences politiques (for instance in the sentence she majored in government, in which the verb major is another headache, because American studies are organized in quite a different way from studies in French speaking countries). The Russian word dispanserizacija illustrates a similar problem. It designates a whole conception of public health services that has no equivalent in Western countries. If you want your reader to understand your translation, you should, rather than translate it (it would be easy enough to say dispensarisation), explain what it means. Conclusion As you see, each one of the problems mentioned in the paper makes the translators task very arduous indeed. Problems caused by ambiguities, unexpressed but implied meanings, and semantic values without equivalent in the target language require a lot of thinking, a special knowledge of the field and a certain amount of research as for instance when you have to find out if an industry being developed already exists or not, or if secretary Tan Buting is a male or a female, which, in many languages, will govern the correct form of the adjectives and even the translation of  secretary (Sekreter? Sekreterin? ) . Such problems take up 80 to 90% of a professional translators time. A translator is essentially a detective, Toncia uses to say, and it is true. He has to make a lot of phone calls, to go from one library to another (not so much to find a technical term as to understand how a process unfolds or to find basic data that are understood, and thus unexpressed, among specialists) and to tap all his resources in deduction. These days we all seem to take the right of being a professional translator, but on closer look things are not so simple. In the international environment today, proper communication has become extremely important, and seemingly insignificant mistakes could cause a lot of trouble for the parties involved. In cases when proficient translation or interpreting is required, saving money by hiring someone from your staff instead of a competent professional is not a choice I would recommend. Bibliography Hammond , I. , 1998 Levkas Man, William Collins Larousse, 1994 Dictionaire de la langue fracaise, Lexis Philip, B. , 2000 Websters Third New International Dictionary, Webster Inc. Websites www. iti. org. uk- Institute or Translating and Interpreting http://www. naati. com. au- National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters.

University Of Management And Technology Information Technology Essay

University Of Management And Technology Information Technology Essay This business plan describes a proposed venture to setting up a company called Nerd Patrol to provide individuals and small businesses with a full range of computer and networking services including hardware and software upgrades, hardware repairs, debugging software problems, dealing with network problems etc. Nerd Patrol will be initially owned by John Robbins. Depending on growth development, the company will possibly join with Mary Singh and Nabil Quresh to expand operations and to coverage in widen area. The Market Market research indicated the available niche market able to be occupied by additional businesses of this kind of nature. The very nature of the computing industry with its extraordinary rate of technological development creates a constant need for businesses skilled in updating and advising customers on computer-related issues. Individual home PC users will provide the majority of our business revenue income. Those jobs will typically consist of minor problem resolve and upgrade services such as software installation, hardware upgrade or Operation system upgrade and advising them for changing required. Business Week expects the computing industry to grow at a rate of 12% and the central processor unit speeds to continue to expand for years to come, providing obvious resource for sales. Nerd Patrol has decided to focus mainly on the individual home PC market for many kind of services. These home customers generally request the jobs done be quick, easier and less resource intensive then the opposing small business customer. In addition, this market tends to offer more flexibility for service times allowing a more productive workday and can have better human resources arrangement. Our target market will initially focus on the surrounding areas. Market research indicated there is an plenty of business for a small company such as US Computer Services, Computer Repair Chicago and Northern Computer Service, LLC. If we need exists for increased business, such promotional medium like TV, Internet or printing advertisement will be explored to increase the citizen perception of Nerd Patrol. The next step will be setting up a branch in other state to cover widen area. There are many competitors for the computer upgrade business in the surrounding area. Therefore we expect to be able to attract the price-sensitive market without much work to get involved in the competitive market. Financial Considerations Total start-up expenses are modest. Since Nerd Patrol is a service business and not product oriented, operational costs should remain low through the start-up process. Fixed costs have been set at a reasonably accurate monthly level. This should allow for equipment maintenance and purchase or replacement of basic parts used in performing our services. Somehow hardware parts may require keeping inventory at our shop as well. Variable costs have been set per unit to allow for additional expenses such as travel costs specific to each job. Objectives To provide a computer related service to the district that is in sufficient demand as to generate a profit. Maintain a strong repeat customer base in individual and or small business to maximize growth rate. Become a positive influence in the district in which we operate. Mission To become a contributing unit of society while delivering a services and products of exceptional quality, value and in a timely base. We will treat every customer as if they were our only customer. Providing the best services and suggestions to our customer. Keys to Success * Marketing and Networking being known to the public. * Responsiveness being an on-call computer paramedic in fast response time. * Quality service getting the job done right at the first time, offering 100% after service guarantee. * Relationships developing loyal and repeat customersretainers. * Experienced in SOHO operating system with Database management solution. * One stop solution to individual home users and small business. Company Summary Nerd Patrol will initially be a sole proprietorship. The goal will be to start the venture as inexpensively as possible with minimal outside financing. Nerd Patrol will be a home office start-up, utilizing one studio room in the owners home. Company Ownership Nerd Patrol will be initially owned by John Robbins as a sole proprietorship. Possibly later having Mary Singh and Nabil Quresh join the venture and expanding operations as well as clientele. Start-up Summary Total start-up expenses are modest. This composed of mostly equipment costs along with a few dollars for research of consumer wants and desires and few pads of stationary. Exact allocations are shown on the following table. Since this is a service business and not product oriented, operational costs should remain low through the start-up process. Start-up Requirements Start-up Expenses Legal US$200 Stationery etc. US$40 Brochures US$40 Consultants US$0 Insurance US$0 Rent US$0 Research and development US$20 Expensed equipment US$400 Other US$0 Total Start-up Expenses US$700 Start-up Assets Cash Required US$300 Other Current Assets US$0 Long-term Assets US$0 Total Assets US$300 Total Requirements US$1,000 Start-up Funding Start-up Expenses to Fund US$700 Start-up Assets to Fund US$300 Total Funding Required US$1,000 Assets Non-cash Assets from Start-up US$0 Cash Requirements from Start-up US$300 Additional Cash Raised US$0 Cash Balance on Starting Date US$300 Total Assets US$300 Liabilities and Capital Liabilities Current Borrowing US$0 Long-term Liabilities US$0 Accounts Payable (Outstanding Bills) US$0 Other Current Liabilities (interest-free) US$0 Total Liabilities US$0 Capital Planned Investment Investor 1 US$1,000 Investor 2 US$0 Other US$0 Additional Investment Requirement US$0 Total Planned Investment US$1,000 Loss at Start-up (Start-up Expenses) (US$700) Total Capital US$300 Total Capital and Liabilities US$300 Total Funding US$1,000 3. Services Nerd Patrol will offer computer support, repair, networking, upgrade and also software/hardware debug service to clients of two major categories, individual home PC users and small office users. These categories will define 90% of our operations. 3.1 Service Description Our services can be obtained through direct hourly compensation, or if preferred or more applicable, through a contract situation with pre-defined limits. Network setup will be define as job base and software implementation will be define to charge per function. 3.2 Competitive Comparison Our services are more intensive and accurate than any existing competition in the surrounding metro area. Since we have no excessive overhead we can be focused on delivering exactly what the customer wants, something other computer support providers in this area have a shock with. Also Nerd Patrol also provide hardware and software debug service which others provider not yet have such service in these area. 3.3 Technology Nerd Patrol will operate in an environment with technology that is constantly developing. Keeping up to date will be of essential importance to the profitability of this venture. We will maintain working as well as functional knowledge of all the latest hardware and software available to the public. Our customers will receive the most current versions of all software and hardware upgrades requested. Also providing suggestion to small company for the latest automated software system in order to save the operating cost. Market Analysis Summary Nerd Patrol will provide computer support in both a consulting and technical capacity to individual home PC users and small business owners. Also Nerd Patrol will apply for Microsoft authorization to sell their product like Microsoft Dynamics which is a pre-defined ERP system which can be customize. Since Nerd Patrol is currently a one man operation it will be limited in growth to the capacity of work able to be completed. Personal market research indicated an available niche market able to be occupied by additional businesses of this nature. The very nature of the computing industry with its noteworthy rate of technological development, creates a constant need for businesses skilled in updating and advising customers on computer-related issues. 4.1 Market Segmentation The existing computer service market is so spacious categorizing it is a rather difficult task. For our revenue-oriented purposes we will define the market into individual home PC users and small business customers. Individual home PC users will share the majority of our business revenue. These jobs will typically consist of minor repairing, upgrades services and advising. The small business market will be defined as customers with five or more computers or a network requiring services or maintenance. Sometime including advice for SAP, MRP, ERP, CRM system and database management solution for our customers. 4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy Nerd Patrol has decided to focus mainly on the individual home PC market for many reasons. These home customers typically requests jobs that are in immediate, economy and less resource intensive then the opposing small business customers. In addition, this market tends to offer more flexibility for service times allowing a more productive workday. 4.2.1 Market Needs As reported by ComputingNet magazine, there is a substantial need for individuals capable of performing computer repairs, upgrading and Wi-Fi network setup in a timely and cost-effective manner in this region. Nerd Patrol is directed specifically at this niche market. 4.2.2 Market Trends Both the hardware and software side of the computer industry continue to turn out new and revised computer components at surprising rates. For Nerd Patrol this means job security well into the future since our aim is to providing such service to customer. 4.2.3 Market Growth As reported by the Wall Street Journal, there seems to be endlessly to the development of the computer market. Business Week expects the computing industry to grow at a rate of 12% and the central processor unit speeds to continue to expand for years to come. 4.3 Service Business Analysis Secondary market research shows computer service customers tend to be very loyal providers that perform work in speed and satisfy their needs. An analysis of Nerd Patrol main competitors shows no demonstrative strengths that would be significant barriers to possible success. Likewise, identifying competitors weaknesses has illuminated several areas that Nerd Patrol can target as marketing strategies like combination of the use of Office application for home users and Dynamics with database like MySQL and Oracle for small businesses. 4.3.1 Main Competitors There are two main competitors for the computer upgrade business in this area. 1. COMPUTER REPAIR CHICAGO . They are a well established provider of computer upgrades and services and also launching the Free over the phone estimate. 2. US Computer Services. They provide low cost computer repair, network and training provider specializing in quality on-site service for small businesses and homes in metro area. Both of these companies charge higher rate then Nerd Patrol so we will be able to attract the price-sensitive market without much work. Our second main advantage is the accessibility of our services. The time conscientious customer will appreciate our speedy work. 4.3.2 Competition and Buying Patterns As previously mentioned, there had other computer service providers of in the same area. Our services will be second to no one and our prices will be rock bottom. By providing superior service word of mouth alone will bring in many new clients. The satisfaction our consumers find will keep them as our business. Strategy and Implementation Summary A value proposition of timely and practical solutions to customer and at a reasonable charge coupled with a 100% after service guarantee. A competitive edge based on breeding existing customer relationships and loyalty. Our target market will mainly focus on the surrounding areas. Market research indicated that there is large amount of business for a small company such as Nerd Patrol. If obvious need exists for increased business, such promotional mediums like TV, Internet, radio or print advertisement could be implements and distribute. 5.1 Competitive Edge Our competitive advantage will be our ability to speedy take in a request from a customer and complete the requested task in a short time. Typically we will strive for a 48-hour completion of most home PC user requests and slightly longer for small business obligations. In addition we will conduct our services at the going wage or slightly below. Setting marginal revenue at marginal cost until Nerd Patrol established a substantial customer base if not forever. With this strategy we can undercut most competitors and gain local market share. Also our team with fully certified on Microsoft and Oracle software products which other competitor does not have. We have the ability to promote Microsoft and Oracle product to small business which involving another revenue income 5.2 Value Proposition Our business will be simple and direct. Providing quality services at a reasonable price and taking care of the customers, for they are your business. 5.3 Sales Strategy Happy customers will be a repeat customer is always true for a business. If the customer feels satisfied with our services, he or she will tell his/her friends and more business will come in the door. Sales forecast figures are based on industry figures for the typical growth of a consulting start-up and reflect repeat business generated through meeting customer needs. 5.3.1 Sales Forecast The sales strategy is a prediction of slow with controllable growth rate. Since I am the sole employee at the beginning and I will be focusing on quality and attention to detail especially in the beginning to avoid some potential pitfalls encountered by new businesses. The predicted growth rate is very moderate in the individual home PC market and the small business arenas. This should allow for careful examination of variations in demand with regards to season or holidays and still allow enough flexibility to sufficiently compensate. 5.4 Milestones The milestones listed in the table below, outlined the major events that will promote as well as insure the success of Nerd Patrol and keep it going concern well into the coming future. Management Summary Nerd Patrol is a sole proprietorship initially However Mary Singh and Nabil Quresh will be join together in the future and propose the management team as follow:- John Robbins Handle the daily home PC repairing and daily enquires. Mary Singh Co-ordinate with John for maintain service for individual and small business. Nabil Quresh Mainly act as the controlling of overall Nerd Patrol operation and scheduling. Also he will be able to take over the company account and keep track of all documentation. 6.1 Personnel Plan The following table shows my expected compensation. Since I am the sole employee and I am the only one on the books. I have decided to have my pay directly reflective of the businesses success. Additionally, I have decided to leave a residual amount of income with the company each month which intended to allow a means of adaptation or evolution of the business should circumstances dictate expansion or the hiring of additional employees in the future. Financial Plan The following sections include the annual estimates for the standard set of financial tables. Detailed monthly pro-forma tables are included in the appendix. 7.1 Important Assumptions Nerd Patrol customer base would fluctuate if there was a recess in the economy or other extenuating circumstances that pertain directly to consumer or industry behavior. 7.2 Break-even Analysis Fixed costs have been set at a reasonably accurate monthly level. This should allow for equipment maintenance and purchase or replacement of basic tools used in performing our services. Variable costs have been set per unit to allow for additional expenses such as travel costs specific to each job. 7.3 Projected Profit and Loss The profit and loss shown for this company is a source of inspiration. For the first year of operation the books show a modest net profit. This should allow for great flexibility and survival in the start-up phase in case of unexpected problems or expenses. The profit margin declines incrementally in the following two years as greater payroll allocations are made which reflected the join of Mary and Nabil. These increased allocations will be contingent upon the continued success of this going concern. Since this business is operated out of the home, expenses such as rent, utilities, and insurance are sunk costs and not reflective of the business venture. 7.4 Projected Cash Flow This information is presented in the chart and table below. 7.5 Projected Balance Sheet This information is presented in the table below. 7.6 Business Ratios Business ratios for the years of this plan are shown below. Industry profile ratios based on the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code 7379, Computer Related Services NEC, are shown for comparison. Appendix Personal Plan General Assumptions Pro forma Profit Loss Pro Forma Cash Flow Pro forma Balance Sheet

Mergers and Acquisitions in SME Lending

Mergers and Acquisitions in SME Lending CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In the process of industrialization small business plays an important and economic growth. It increases per capital income and output, makes available employments for the labour market and usually promotes successful deployment of resources which are considered vital to steering of economic development and growth. It is presumed that the lower income segments of Nigeria benefit when SMEs have better access to finances because they alleviate poverty by creating more jobs and better wages. ( Emeni and Okafor 2008). In many of the developed economies and developing economies both have come to value, realise and appreciate small businesses. Being that small business are pioneering, well-organized, resourceful and allows fast decisions process to be taken because of their relative small size. They are major players in the process of industrialization and economic development. ( Ememi and Okafor, 2008) In most up-and-coming nation of the world, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have become the vanguard of economic expansion. They create employment opportunities as the most significant employer of labour force; in addition they increase the nations per capital income and output invariably increasing the GDP by effective resource utilization. Also in large developed nations, SMEs plays a noteworthy role in influencing the economy. Taking China for example, SMEs are said to be accountable for sixty percent of the industrial output employing seventy-five percent of the workforce in the metropolitan centres. ( Anas A.Galadima, 2006). All over the world and in all country, government have come to realise the significant of this class of companies. And as such have originated all-inclusive policies to encourage, give confidence, support and promote the establishment of SMEs. Improvements in small and medium enterprise are a plus for employment generation, solid entrepreneurial base and encouragement for the use of local raw materials and technology. (Oladele, 2009). There are a lot of challenges that SMEs face in both the developed and developing countries and they are massive. One main aspect is financing, the ability to obtain and acquire loans. Most small businesses are not attractive prospects for banks. Berger et al. ( 1998) suggest that larger banks may be less predisposed than smaller banks with less complex structure, to supply credit to small businesses. Back home in Nigeria the talk is very similar with the on-going of other country. But of late the Bankers Committee intervened in 2001 with a scheme called the Small and Medium Industries Equity Investment Scheme (SMIEIS). The idea brought life and empowerment to SMEs discarding all other credit schemes which were not properly implemented. (Aina, O. 2007). Nigerian banking reform is a product of global effort and consolidation is one of its major achievement that everyone have welcomed happily. This consolidation wave has greatly enhance the average magnitude and size of banking institution generally. The mean size of the total assets of banks has increased by 439% from 2003 – 2009, recording =N=2767.78 billion to =N=14,923.00 billion banks total assets figure (CBN report 2009). Prior to the introduction of banking reform, the banking sector was repulsively undersized, small, weak and frail, leading to numerous and several economic setback. Besides the benefits related to consolidation on the supply of credit to small and medium enterprises, merger and acquisition have also increase the size of banks from small less complex establishment to conglomerate multinational companies in Nigeria. These includes mobilization of domestic savings, improved allocation of resources, elimination of deep-rooted inefficiency , mobilization of foreign savings and above all enhanced accessibility of small scale funding. But in all these what is less comprehensible, is the effect that bank MA has on the supply of credit to small businesses in Nigeria.(Emeni and Okafor, 2008). Related Literature Other related studies have established some well renowned facts on the effect of consolidation on small business lending. In a recent article Berger, Allen N., R. Demsetz and P. Strahan. (1999) suggest that consolidation is only valuable and favourable to a certain extent. The consequences of consolidation could have direct and also indirect effects. The direct effect being an increases in bank size, increase in market share and enhance bank performance, the indirect effect can be a reduction in the availability of financial services to small businesses. (Berger, Allen N. R. Demsetz and P. Strahan. 1999). Other studies Vera and Onji (2010) illustrate that because most small businesses depend greatly on less complex small banking institution for their principal source of funding, consolidation of the banking industry may reduce ease of access of loans to small business in the US. Earlier researchers find that small businesses have not been unfavourably affected by bank merger and acquisition on making credit available to small business (Peek and Rosengren 1995, 1998; Berger et al. 1995). This is because these studies relied on data up to the mid-1990, while data as at 1995-1997 being the peak of consolidation were not fully employed. This has proven to be of interest to further scrutinize whether the new wave of consolidation may affect small businesses differently. In view of this importance piece of information and the imperfection of the market mechanism to mobilise and allocate financial resources to socially desirable economic activities of any nation it is worthwhile to investigate the relationship between merger and acquisition and credit availability. Based on the above background, the enthusiasm and motivation of this research is to critically scrutinize and observe if there is any relationship, or connection between bank mergers and acquisitions as a resourceful solution to lending. This study, therefore, want to investigate and find evidence that consolidation between banks of diver structure and asset base that occurred as a result of the Nigerian banking reform of 2004, could negatively affect small business lending. This is the reason why we choose to examine the effect of MA to SMEs in Nigeria. Aim and Objective Aim The main purpose of this dissertation is to examine whether bank mergers and acquisitions are a resourceful solution to lending to SMEs. As a result the main research question is: Do banks mergers and acquisitions increase or decrease credit availability to SMEs? This leads to a number of sub-questions: Does financial performance in the banking sector adversely affected small business lending after MA occurs? What other factors affects or is responsible for credit availability to SMEs from the Nigerian banks? To present key findings and recommendation based on data analysis and information collected. Research Methodology There are several research methods that could have been used in this work, such as a Questionnaire based survey through the distribution of questionnaire. Carrying out direct interviews with Small business owner and Bank managers or loan officers is also an effective means to collection of data information. Since the main purpose of this study is to examine if bank mergers and acquisitions increase or decrease credit availability to SME, we will be using accounting based financial ratio analysis. The use of financial ratio in measuring a banks performance and its effectiveness to distinguish high-performance banks from others is quite common in the literature (Abdulla, 1994a; Samad, 2004a). Data Sample Ten Nigerian commercial banks which have effectively been consolidated with other smaller banks will be considered in this study over the period of 2000-2009 based on the following reasons: First, these banks are long established locally incorporated banks in Nigeria. Secondly they have been involved in the consolidation process from small bank to mega banks, passing through the premerger phase up to the post merger phase. Thirdly the period 2000-2009 effectively covers the span before consolidation and after consolidation. The data that will be used in this study is taken from Bank Scope. The annual financial statement of the top ten commercial banks based on their asset base. All the figures are expressed in Naira (=N=) the Nigeria indigenous currency. Since one of our aims is to examine whether the amount of small business lending is affected by the new consolidation legislation passed by Nigeria government on bank reform, we will also be comparing the figures from the statutory reserve. This is mandatory for all commercial banks in Nigeria to invest 10% of their profit before tax to Small and Medium Enterprise Equity Investment Scheme. It is more likely that we will capture the total amount of small business lending that is actually supplied to small businesses within Nigeria. Dissertation Structure The dissertation is split into five chapters: Chapter one is the introduction of the dissertation topic, related studies and the motivation for the choice of the dissertation Chapter two focuses on the Nigeria banking sector, how the banking sector has developed in Nigeria over the years. Covering the history of the Nigerian banking sector divided into four periods: the budding period, the expansion period, the consolidated period and the post-consolidated period. High lighting major financial developments from liberalisation that saw the existence of 87 banks to the consolidation of banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria deadline of 2005. Chapter three is a literature review on academic literature and analytical view on merger and acquisition and its theory in banking. This chapter aims at providing a complete picture of bank mergers and acquisitions (MAs) in the theory of banking and at offering economic evaluation and strategic analyses of the process. The main characteristics of this process is how it has affected lending to small business Chapter four introduces the Small and Medium Enterprises, what they are, why they exist. This Section will review some recent literature that is particularly relevant to the effect of bank consolidation on small business lending. Chapter five discusses the empirical results, in which the main findings of the performance of the banks during the period 2002 – 2009 are analysed. This last chapter, Chapter six concludes and highlights the limitations of the study and recommendations for the future research Summary We have been able to introduce the topic of the dissertation and the motivation behind why it was considered important to investigate funding of the small and medium enterprises. Small business play vital role in the process of industrialization and economic growth. It is presumed that the lower income segments of Nigeria benefit when SMEs have better access to finances because they alleviate poverty by creating more jobs and better wages. Developments in small and medium enterprise are a plus for employment generation, solid entrepreneurial base and encouragement for the use of local raw materials and technology. Governments all over the world have realised the importance of this category of companies and have formulated comprehensive public policies to encourage, support and fund the establishment of SMEs. The most worrying challenges facing SMEs in many developing countries is funding. In the next chapter we will be reviewing the Nigerian banking system. We will be looking at a brief history of the Nigerian banking system dividing its growth into four phases, and see how it has evolved from many smaller banks into fewer mega banks. We shall also be looking at the major regulators of this industry and see how they have effectively influence the actions that has lead to merger and acquisition in the banking industry. Also see how the merger and acquisition phase has influenced lending to the small business through the new monetary policies on SMEEIS and Microfinance banks to aid economic growth, which is the main aim of this dissertation.

Puerto Rican Art Essay -- Puerto Rico Artists Crafts Essays

Puerto Rican Art Historically, Puerto Rico is only 512 years old. The island was discovered on November 19, 1493 by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World. On the island he found Taino Indians living there. Juan Ponce de Leà ³n came to the island in 1508 as its first governor. In 1521, the city of San Juan was established. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Puerto Rico was attacked by the Dutch and English, Spain’s enemies. The island was struggling to attain economical stability by raising cattle and farming on a small scale. By the end of the nineteenth century, Puerto Rico had grown considerably socially, economically, and politically. The Cà ©dula de Gracias of 1815 offered many incentives and advantages the immigrants of the new Latin American republics. Puerto Rico became a sugar exporting colony. After the Spanish-American War in 1898, Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain to the United States. In 1917, Puerto Ricans became U.S. citizens and adopted the Commonwealth state in 1952. Although Puerto Rico is relatively young artistically, it has gone through major cultural changes, first with the Spanish conquest, and then with the United States and other immigrant groups. The artistic production of painters and craftsmen, through these not yet five hundred years, reflect these cultural shocks. Puerto Rico, like the United States, is a land of immigrants. It is presently in the process of establishing a cultural statement. Because of the diversity of its inhabitants, no statement of a unified artistic expression can be made. In earlier times, the discovery, the colonization period, and later some stability in the nineteenth century, the artistic production was basically unified, that is, it portrayed Puerto Rico through single statements, its people, its vegetation, eminent politicians, religious beliefs, etc. The contemporary artists have expressed their ideas in more complex and stylized ways. This is not saying that the earlier works were primitive or archaic. It simply means that the times demand different artistic visions of what the Puerto Rican reality is now. Art will provide some explanation and insight into the life and reality of our people. The Taino Indians The Taino Indians had been living in Puerto Rico for hundreds of years when the Spaniard conquerors arrived in the fifteenth century. They w... ...island. Castor Ayala is the maximum exponent of this craft. Other crafts from coconut shells are also made here. The African influence is heard in music and through handmade musical instruments. The influence of the Indian, Spanish, and African heritage’s is also reflected to various degrees in the pottery and clay figures made today on the island. Puerto Rico’s present day crafts are many and varied, and there are craft fairs celebrated on the island for everyone to enjoy. Resources: Magaly Rivera â€Å"Welcome to Puerto Rico!† http://welcome.topuertorico.org/index.shtml Irvine R. MacManus, Jr. â€Å"Taà ­no Treasures The Legacy of Dr. Ricardo E. Alegrà ­a† http://ca80.lehman.cuny.edu/gallery/taino_treasures/macmanus_essay.htm Bob Corbett â€Å"Pre-Columbian Hispaniola - Arawak/Taino Indians† http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43a/100.html â€Å"Puerto Rican Painters† http://www.angelfire.com/art2/puerto_rican_artists/ Cecil Marie Cancel â€Å" ¡Bienvenidos a la pà ¡gina de nuestro pintor, Josà © Campeche!† http://members.tripod.com/~josecampeche/ Mari Carmen Ramà ­rez â€Å"Modern and Contemporary Puerto Rican Artists Francisco Oller† http://www.zenstudio.com/pr/artists/oller/oller.htm Puerto Rican Art Essay -- Puerto Rico Artists Crafts Essays Puerto Rican Art Historically, Puerto Rico is only 512 years old. The island was discovered on November 19, 1493 by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World. On the island he found Taino Indians living there. Juan Ponce de Leà ³n came to the island in 1508 as its first governor. In 1521, the city of San Juan was established. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Puerto Rico was attacked by the Dutch and English, Spain’s enemies. The island was struggling to attain economical stability by raising cattle and farming on a small scale. By the end of the nineteenth century, Puerto Rico had grown considerably socially, economically, and politically. The Cà ©dula de Gracias of 1815 offered many incentives and advantages the immigrants of the new Latin American republics. Puerto Rico became a sugar exporting colony. After the Spanish-American War in 1898, Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain to the United States. In 1917, Puerto Ricans became U.S. citizens and adopted the Commonwealth state in 1952. Although Puerto Rico is relatively young artistically, it has gone through major cultural changes, first with the Spanish conquest, and then with the United States and other immigrant groups. The artistic production of painters and craftsmen, through these not yet five hundred years, reflect these cultural shocks. Puerto Rico, like the United States, is a land of immigrants. It is presently in the process of establishing a cultural statement. Because of the diversity of its inhabitants, no statement of a unified artistic expression can be made. In earlier times, the discovery, the colonization period, and later some stability in the nineteenth century, the artistic production was basically unified, that is, it portrayed Puerto Rico through single statements, its people, its vegetation, eminent politicians, religious beliefs, etc. The contemporary artists have expressed their ideas in more complex and stylized ways. This is not saying that the earlier works were primitive or archaic. It simply means that the times demand different artistic visions of what the Puerto Rican reality is now. Art will provide some explanation and insight into the life and reality of our people. The Taino Indians The Taino Indians had been living in Puerto Rico for hundreds of years when the Spaniard conquerors arrived in the fifteenth century. They w... ...island. Castor Ayala is the maximum exponent of this craft. Other crafts from coconut shells are also made here. The African influence is heard in music and through handmade musical instruments. The influence of the Indian, Spanish, and African heritage’s is also reflected to various degrees in the pottery and clay figures made today on the island. Puerto Rico’s present day crafts are many and varied, and there are craft fairs celebrated on the island for everyone to enjoy. Resources: Magaly Rivera â€Å"Welcome to Puerto Rico!† http://welcome.topuertorico.org/index.shtml Irvine R. MacManus, Jr. â€Å"Taà ­no Treasures The Legacy of Dr. Ricardo E. Alegrà ­a† http://ca80.lehman.cuny.edu/gallery/taino_treasures/macmanus_essay.htm Bob Corbett â€Å"Pre-Columbian Hispaniola - Arawak/Taino Indians† http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43a/100.html â€Å"Puerto Rican Painters† http://www.angelfire.com/art2/puerto_rican_artists/ Cecil Marie Cancel â€Å" ¡Bienvenidos a la pà ¡gina de nuestro pintor, Josà © Campeche!† http://members.tripod.com/~josecampeche/ Mari Carmen Ramà ­rez â€Å"Modern and Contemporary Puerto Rican Artists Francisco Oller† http://www.zenstudio.com/pr/artists/oller/oller.htm

Penny Marshall :: essays research papers

Penny Marshall has directed six films in her career: "The Preachers Wife"(1996), "Renaissance Man"(1994), "A League of Their Own"(1992), "Awakenings"(1990), "Big"(1998), and "Jumpin' Jack Flash"(1986). We know Penny best from her stint in Laverne and Shirley (1976-1983) as the hilarious Laverne De Fazio. After the series was cancelled Laverne appeared in some pictures until her directorial debut in "Jumpin' Jack Flash". This film was pretty much a bomb and Penny gained credibility as a director in "Big". Tom Hanks received a nomination for Best Actor in this picture. Marshall's best directorial accomplishment had to be in "Awakenings" starring Robert DeNiro and Robin Williams. This film was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor (Robert DeNiro), and for Best Adapted Screenplay. Penny Marshall's style is classical. "Awakenings" and "Big" in particular are based upon a three-act structure. "A League of their Own" and "Big" are tall tales, strongly centered on plot. There exists good and bad people, and characters that are changed by their experiences (Dr. Malcolm Sayer, Josh Baskin). Character actors are prominent in her films and certainly used to reflect the persona of the star as well as to draw people to the movie. In films such as "Big" Penny places a high emphasis on setting which are highly selective in detail.Penny Marshall's typical choice of genre is comedy probably because of her comedic background, but she did direct "Awakenings" which is a drama. Her films tend to deal with contemporary issues in society such as coming of age ("Big"), oppression of the mentally handicapped ("Awakenings"), and women's accomplishment ("A League of their Own"). Penny Marshall's films are not multi million dollar movies which are filled with special effects and fancy camera action rather they are simple pictures which let the actors convey the messages. Penny does not attempt to use film as an art form; rather she uses film to tell a story. Penny Marshall's story sources consist of original and adapted screenplays. "Big" was written by Gary Ross who is best known for writing and producing "Pleasantville", and Anne Spielberg who wrote "Toy Story". "Awakenings" was adapted from a book of the same title by Oliver Sacks and written for the screen by Steven Zaillian who wrote "Schindler's List" and "A Civil Action" to name but a few. From these two films it is presumed that Penny uses a variety of sources.In "Awakenings" and "Big" Penny's style is classicism.

African American and Their Rights Essay

Since slavery, African Americans have gone through a lot to reach their current state. In the early 20th century, African Americans faced discrimination, isolation, and were segregated according to their skin color. It started when Europeans brought the first Africans to America, and continued throughout the Civil War. The American government made some changes in policies. A variety of leaders shaped the successful struggle toward black equality in America (Bowles, 2011). Ever since slavery begun, African Americans have been determined to end segregation, discrimination, and isolation. Activists such as, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, and others, joined together to put an end to segregation, discrimination, and isolation to attain civil rights and equality. Slavery had changed dramatically in the late 1600s. About this time the slave trade to American colonies also began increasing to meet the demand for cheap labor. Traders sold slaves to the Northern colonies, but English and other European immigrants satisfied the demand for labor there (Echerd, 2009). Slaves in America came from western and central Africa. African tribes sometimes enslaved those defeated in intertribal wars and sold their captives to European slave traders. The tribes raided villages to obtain slaves to trade for European goods. Slave traders had even offered the Africans guns and other goods for the slaves. Slaves lived a rough, hard life. Cheap labor was a huge part of their lives. They had to work from sunrise to sunset. The work consisted of clearing land, tended to fields of tobacco, rice, and vegetables. They also performed many other tasks that had helped make plantations almost completely self-sufficient. No slaves saw any money for their tasks that they had performed, but they did receive food, clothing, and shelter. The slaves had resided in small one-room huts, which had no windows and the floors were all dirt. Most slaves accepted their living condition, however, they knew no other way of life (Koehler, 2009). However, white Southerners regained control of state governments in the South during the late 1870s, however, and reversed most of the previous gains made by former slaves. For example: segregation. What is segregation? According to Webster’s Dictionary, to segregate is defined as to separate or set apart from others; isolate or to require, often with force, the separation of a specific racial, religious, or other group from the body of society. Segregation has been a part of our American heritage, almost from the moment slaves arrived on the shores of the New World (Bowles, 2011). In 17th century Virginia, the theocratic government feared that racial mixing between freed and enslaved blacks and white indentured servants would become a means to usurp government power. They passed laws in which the color line was clearly defined in any criminal punishments. By treating whites and blacks separately and unequally, these Virginian leaders set up a system of white supremacy that would become an essential component of American slavery. Separation and segregation was the order of the day, with African Americans being forced to ride in separate railroad cars, have their own hotels and courthouses, and even get water out of their own drinking fountains. Their children could not attend the same schools with the White children. To further push the color-line, they then added in segregation with the Jim Crow Laws. This is mainly because the Whites were considered to be superior, and hence were thought to deserve better schools with better facilities. African Americans on the other hand were considered inferior, and hence their children attended low-quality schools that lacked adequate facilities (Sitkoff & Franklin, 2008). The Northern States, which had grew and prospered during the war, believed the former slaves to be equal as any other person. The Southern States, still angry over the loss of the war and their firm belief in White superiority, took a different approach. They created and enforced what were known as the Black Codes. These were legislations passed in Southern states to control labor, migration and other activities of the freed slaves. Black Codes allowed legal marriage, property ownership and limited access to the court systems. It prohibited them from testifying against whites, serving on juries or militias, voting and publicly expressing any form of legal concerns ( www. history. com). Any former slave that did not sign yearly labor contract with the plantation owners could be arrested and hired out. The Black codes in short allowed for the continued and legal discrimination against the former slaves (www. history. com). Congress quickly responded to these laws in 1866 and seized the initiative in remaking the south. Republicans wanted to ensure that with the remaking the south, freed blacks were made viable members of society. But the strong southern legislatures finally gave in; in 1868 they repealed most of the laws that discriminated against blacks. Things were starting to look up. But by 1877 Democratic parties regained their power of the south and ended reconstruction. In 1882, southern states passed Jim Crow laws that enforced strict segregation between blacks and whites and limited African-American civil rights. This was devastating to the blacks. After all the strides they made were reversed. From holding political offices, the right to vote, and participating as equal members of society was changed. The south gradually reinstated the racially discriminatory laws. The two main goals they wanted these laws to achieve: disenfranchisement and segregation. To take away the power that the blacks had gained, the Democratic Party began to stop Blacks from voting. There were many ways to stop blacks from voting. Some of these things were poll tax, which were fees were charged at voting booths and were expensive for most blacks, and the literacy test. Since teaching blacks were illegal, most adult blacks were former slaves and illiterate. And the other goal, segregation, causes the democrats to create laws that segregated the schools and public facilities. The Northern States, which had grew and prospered during the war, believed the former slaves to be equal as any other person. The Southern States, still angry over the loss of the war and their firm belief in White superiority, took a different approach. They created and enforced what were known as the Black Codes. These were legislations passed in Southern states to control labor, migration and other activities of the freed slaves. Black Codes allowed legal marriage, property ownership and limited access to the court systems. It prohibited them from testifying against whites, serving on juries or militias, voting and publicly expressing any form of legal concerns. Any former slave that did not sign yearly labor contract with the plantation owners could be arrested and hired out. The Black codes in short allowed for the continued and legal discrimination against the former slaves. Just like some African Americans activists fought this segregation, some Whites had some groups of their own to carry the segregation on and on. The Ku Klux Klan was one of them. The Ku Klux Klan, Knights of White Camellia, and other terrorists murdered thousands of blacks and some whites to prevent them from voting and participating in public life. The KKK was founded in 1865 to 1866. They directed their violence towards black landowners, politicians, and community leaders. They also did this to people who supported Republicans or racial equalities (Anti-Defamation League, 2012). After the abolishment of slavery in the U. S. the KKK formed. They hated blacks and would commit crimes against them. Murders, hangings, and lynches are just some of the crimes against the blacks (www. kkk. bz, n. d. ). The Ku Klux Klan claims to be just defending their people like other races do. What is a lynching? Lynching is a form of punishment with no legal permission. Most times lynching occurred against African Americans by hanging them. This was very popular during the Gilded Age after the American Civil War when African Americans were freed from slavery. Many White men would use lynching against Black men for being in a mixed relationship with a White woman. However, because lynching had no legal basis, it was thought to have been a tool that was used against freed slaves that had achieved financial stability and authority in order to remain a White-dominated nation. Lynching was most likely performed by White Supremacy groups like the KKK. Lynching was done by hanging or shooting, or both. However, many were of a more hideous nature. Burning at the stake, maiming, dismemberment, castration, and other brutal methods of physical torture are all part of a lynching. Lynching therefore was a cruel combination of racism and sadism, which was utilized primarily to sustain the caste system in the South. Many white people believed that Negroes could only be controlled by fear. To them, lynching was seen as the most effective means of control. Defending your people is one thing, but to torture another human being is inhuman. The KKK has several stories out there today on how they treated the blacks, whether they did anything wrong or not. For instance, a Louisiana woman is in critical condition after she was set on fire, resulting in burns on roughly 60 percent of her body, and her car appears to have had racial slurs written on it at the time of her attack (Mach, n. d. ). They had even gone as far as church bombings. The KKK launched a bomb into a church during a Sunday service, which left four innocent teenage girls dead. The men responsible hid behind the cloak of secrecy, intimidation and the white robes of the oldest terrorist organization in the world, the Ku Klux Klan (Gado, n. d. ). Therefore, until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, racial discrimination is an issue that was not seriously tackled. The act was a successful result of most wide-ranging civil rights legislation and Civil Rights Movements for close to a century (Finkelman, 2009). The act declared discrimination on the basis of color, race, ethnicity, religion, and many other aspects as unconstitutional. During the critical years from 1954 to 1963, a variety of leaders with different backgrounds, such as lawyers from the NAACP, women sitting on buses, ministers from southern black churches, militants from black power organizations, and youth from colleges had shaped the successful struggle toward black equality in America (Bowles, 2011). In 1896, the Supreme Court’s Plessy v. Ferguson decision established that â€Å"separate but equal† facilities for whites and blacks were allowable under the U. S. Constitution. Local governmental officials could designate separate public facilities like drinking fountains, restrooms, and schools. Even courthouses often had separate Bibles according to the defendant’s race. The problem was that separate usually meant unequal, and segregation subverted the freedom of every African American (Sundquist, 1993). Now, it is time for the African- Americans to fight back. The incident that made them want to make a difference was the Rosa Park bus ride. After a long day of work on December 1, 1955, Parks, feet hurt, looked forward to sitting on the bus for her ride home. At the time, there was a city ordinance stating that African Americans had to give up their seats on a train or bus if a white man asked for them. When a white man approached Parks and told her that he wanted her seat, she simply said no. Although she acted as a private citizen, her response was as an informed, committed member of the NAACP movement. The bus driver had asked Parks to move. When she did not, the bus driver said, â€Å"Look, woman, I told you I wanted the seat. Are you going to stand up? † When Parks again said no, the driver threatened, â€Å"If you don’t stand up, I’m going to have you arrested. † She gave no reply but at the next stop, Rosa was arrested (Garrow, 2004). A pastor known as Martin Luther King Jr., organized a boycott, the Montgomery bus boycott. King Jr. took this to a higher level and maintained and organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), which coordinated similar bus boycotts in other cities. Shortly after the boycott, King had found a bomb on his porch. King went to Birmingham, Alabama, where he continued his nonviolent protests and marches. However, the police authorized force to disband King’s followers by using electric cattle prods, tear gas, and fire hoses (Bowles, 2011). King was arrested with the others, but upon his release from jail he went to Washington, D. C., where he and demonstrators met at the National Mall and addressed them with his famous â€Å"We Shall Overcome† speech on August 23, 1963. King’s words at the capital that day were a defining moment of the Civil Rights movement. Other demonstrations and civil disobedience campaigns sought to increase African-American voter registration and win better jobs. Malcolm X actively promoted the Black Muslim cause. Even after speaking about non-violence and wanting peace, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. The civil rights movement dramatically increased participation of African- American voters in both the South and the North today. By the mid-70s some 4000 African-Americans have been elected to political office at all levels of government. Qualified African-Americans now have a wider range of opportunities than ever before. Whether you are White or African-American, each group has faced its own peculiar challenges on its approach to democracy (Rappaport, 2001). This racism is wrong and unconstitutional. The 13th Amendment is ratified, abolishing slavery, which some people still went against it. The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to the former slaves and forbade states from denying any person life, liberty, or property without due process of the law. The 14th Amendment also guaranteed equal protection of the law for all citizens. The 15th Amendment barred states from denying citizens the right to vote based on race, color, or previous servitude (Hertz, 2009). In a perfect world, everyone would be equal. The color of one’s skin, religious beliefs or sexual preference would mean nothing. We would accept everyone for whom and what they are. We would rejoice in the differences between each other instead of belittling, hating and discriminating against those differences. We don’t however live in a perfect world. We live in a world filled with distrust and hate. If we don’t know or understand it in our society, then it is wrong. It will be discriminated against in one form or another. We as a country have made major strides in overcoming racism, however we still have far to go. In conclusion, African Americans faced isolation, discrimination, and segregation during the post-construction period. Racial discrimination was also prevalent in the military where back soldiers were considered inferior to white soldiers and hence poorly trained and equipped. The issue of racial discrimination, isolation and segregation was not seriously tackled until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted. Civil rights activists such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. organized the famous 1963 protest in Washington that eventually forced President John Kennedy to pass the Act. It is therefore, clear that the journey to end isolation, discrimination, and segregation to attain equality and civil rights has been hard but worthwhile. ? References Bowles, M. (2011). American History 1865- Present End of Isolation. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint. Retrieved at: https://content. ashford. edu/books/AUHIS204. 11. 2 Finkelman, P. (2009) Encyclopedia of African American history, 1896-present, Madison Avenue, New York: Oxford University Press Rappaport, D. (2001). Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sitkoff, H. , & Franklin, J. (2008) The Struggle for Black equality. Hill and Wang Publication http://www. adl. org/learn/ext_us/kkk/default. asp? LEARN_Cat=Extremism&LEARN_SubCat=Extremism_in_America&xpicked=4&item=kkk http://www. history. com/topics/black-codes Civil Rights Act of 1964 http://www. ourdocuments. gov/doc. php? doc=97&page=transcript.

PR Communication Memo Essay

Lancaster, PA, June 13, 2013 – JHW Corporation (NYSE: JHW), a leader in textiles, announced today that John Doe, chief financial officer, has resigned unexpectedly while working with the Securities and Exchange Commission. SEC is currently investigating the accounting practices of JHW and recently discovered discrepancies in the company’s revenue recognition. James H. Whoever, president and CEO of JHW, stated he was surprised to learn of the discrepancies discovered by SEC in the company’s accounting practices and regrets that internal controls were not reviewed sooner. At this time it is unknown if John Doe’s resignation is connected to this incident; however, the company is committed to finding a replacement Chief Financial Officer at the conclusion of the investigation. Until further notice the Vice President of Finance will report directly to the CEO. Additionally, JHW will delay the release of its earnings for the second quarter, pending the conclusion of the investigation relating to accounting practices of revenue recognition. The investigation is overseen under the direction of the Securities and Exchange Commission with the full cooperation of JHW’s internal audit committee and board of directors. As a result of the information discovered the company has broadened the extent of its investigation to include all internal controls for financial reporting. The issues of concern in the investigation primarily involve the proper recognition of revenue. The company anticipates completion of the investigation by the second week in July 2013, and will remedy any discrepancies identified by SEC for the fiscal years affected within the time frame established by SEC. Because of the recent staff changes, and with the help of SEC, we are looking into the situation to resolve it as soon as possible. We believe these staff changes are for the better, and we will continue to strive to reach company goals and protect our investor’s interests. No further information will be  supplied on the status of the investigation or company operations until earnings have been reported. John Doe, Chief Financial Officer, resigned unexpectedly when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requested documents that led to the discovery of issues concerning revenue recognition during its investigation of the company’s accounting practices. A press release has been written to inform the public of the CFO’s resignation and how the company is handling this crisis. At this time I want to inform you of the company’s legal requirements, explain the value of public communication, and the ethical concerns during this crisis. Legal Requirements As a publicly traded company we have a legal obligation to inform the public of the resignation of the company CFO. It is critical that we handle the CFO’s resignation in a manner that minimizes any long-term effects that could cause lasting damage. Additionally, to avoid further repercussions the company should consider the following legal requirements when handling this situation. Legal counsel should be sought to assist the company during this time to ensure nothing is overlooked, avoid future consequences, and breach of confidentiality. * Disclose any information considered material for immediate release to the public * Company operation filings including Form 10-K and 10-Q; file Form 12b-25 to disclose inability to file report in a timely manner and the reason * File an 8-K form for the recent changes * Detailed disclosure on financial condition, including financial statements * Inform shareholders of potential misstatements on annual reports and rectify any inaccuracies; possible litigation and legal consequences as a result of crisis * Ensure confidential information is secure, including CFO’s access to privileged information Public Communication At this time all communications should be directed through the appointment of one spokesperson to ensure facts are consistent and focused on the relevant issues, without breaching confidentiality. Also we need to provide assurance that the company is taking the necessary steps to correct the situation and explain what plan we have to prevent this from recurring. It is imperative that we cooperate with the media to show control over the situation to avoid further rumors of inappropriate behavior. Public communication at this time is invaluable when expressing the company’s concerns and reassuring the stockholders and the public to retain their confidence in the company and its leadership. * The press release should calm the public by informing them of facts about the situation. The company should respond professionally and in a manner that reflects best practices in managing the situation. To maintain integrity, responses need to be honest and transparent to avoid negative impacts. Management should be proactive by preparing for other attacks that may arise as a result of its response. Address negative comments in a positive way to show the company is listening. Management should consult internal policies and procedures on the proper way to handle this situation. * Ethical Considerations Responsible decision making is difficult when ethics tips the balance between calming stakeholders and providing information to SEC. To avoid further concerns in regard to this crisis, the company will provide any information requested by SEC that we are legally obligated to furnish. However, frequent contact and consultation with the â€Å"board of directors should be sought to make sure the organization stays focused on objectives in an ethical, legal, and socially acceptable manner† (Cengage, 2006, p. 3) while providing required information to SEC. Recommendations It is my recommendation that a successor be appointed as soon as possible,  and a meeting should be called with chief investors to smooth any marketplace nerves. Additionally, it is imperative the company develops an action plan to handle the situation in an orderly and professional manner. Staying proactive, calm, and truthful will help reaffirm the integrity of the company and provide reassurance to company stakeholders while impeding further rumors. The press release needs to be delivered to the public and to the NYSE informing them of delayed filings and recent changes to avoid future ramifications, including delisting. The company accounting staff should be available to help answer questions internally as SEC’s investigation continues. I will notify you of any information and developments as they occur. If you have any questions or concerns in this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me. References Cengage. (2006). Stakeholder Relationships, Social Responsibility, and Corporate Governance. Retrieved from http://cengagesites.com/academic/assets/sites/316138_ch02.pdf e-releases. (2013). Press Release Sample. Retrieved from http://www.ereleases.com/press-release-sample.html