Indias Population Essay Example for Free

Indias Population Essay India with its 1.21 billion population occupies second place in the world next to China. India has about 17.5% of the world population with only 2.4% of the world area. The changes in the size and growth of India’s population are considered here in terms of two broad periods, namely Pre-Independence period and the Post-Independence period. The year 1881 is important in the sense that it was the year when the first census on a country wide basis was taken in India. Population of India: Pre Independence Period According to Herodotus (490 B. C.), India was one of the most populous countries in the world. Alexender’s army which invaded India in 327-326 B.C., found a large population. India’s first real empire under Chandragupta Maurya (321-297 B.C.) left records indicating the existence of a standing army of approximately 7,00,000 men. Only a very substantial population could have supported such a large army. The first national decadal census was conducted in 1881 recording a population of 225 million which declined to 251 million in 1921. The Population of India: Post Independence Period Till 1951, when the first census after independence was conducted, the decadal growth was around 13 to 14 percent, registering a gradual rise. 1961 recorded a growth of 21.5percent, which increased to 24.8 and 24.7 percent in 1971 and 1981 respectively. In 1991 the growth rate slightly declined to 23.6 percent. It is a matter of concern that the decadal population growth rate has declined to 21.2 percent in 2001 which further declined to 17.6 percent in 2011. It is estimated that by 2028 India will double its population and it will become the most populous country in the world by 2035. Population Planning in Five Year Plans : India is the first country of the world to adopt the population planning to control its population as an official policy. After an expansion of clinical services in the first two five year plans, the third plan which started in an environment of shock, changed its strategy to extension approach which continued in the fourth plan too. The fifth Five Year Plan (1974-1979) has been unique in the history of the country as a new Family Planning Programme was opted during this. The National Population Policy Statement of April 1976 was the most articulate renunciation of the official policy. The following were its main features: 1. Increase the legal minimum age at marriage from 15 to 18 years for females and 18 to 21 years for males. 2. Freezing the population at the 1971 level for determining representation in Parliament and the State Legislatures up to 2000 A.D. 3. 1971 population was considered as the base for allocation of Central assistance to the State Plans. 4. Eight percent of Central Assistance to the States was to be linked with family planning programme performance. 5. The allotment of houses and loans were to be linked to family size. The eighth Five Year Plan (1992-1997) set the population goal for achieving a net reproductive rate of one by turn of the century and zero population growth by the year 2050 A.D. The immediate objective of the National Population Policy 2000 was to address the unmet needs for contraception, health care infrastructure. In the eleventh Plan which started in 2007, it was emphasised that only through a multi- pronged strategy of combining fertility control measure and welfare measures with population education for people at large and youths in particular along with making school education up to age 14 free and compulsory and reducing drop outs at primary and secondary school levels below 20 percent for both boys and girls, the population goal of India can be achieved. For the twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017), it has been emphasised to improve healthcare infrastructure and implementation of making education compulsory for all the children till the age of 14. Adverse Consequences of Population Explosion: The population explosion, which is undermining all our efforts towards development of the country, is perhaps the single most pressing problems faced by it. The recent census has revealed that while there has been a decline in the rate of growth of population, still the growth rate of 1.7 percent per annum is quite high. If the population growth continues as at present, the country will have such a large population which would be virtually unmanageable. Despite best efforts, it would not be possible to provide even the basic necessities of life to the people at large. Such relentless population growth would also create havoc to our environment and will lead to ecological crises. It has considerable impact on natural resource uses and socio economic development. Rapid population growth will also mean increased urbanization, which may lead to more diseases and further deterioration of water and sewer systems and various pollutions. Future Directions: There cannot be only one miracle formula which will cover the entire country. The main barriers of population control such as poverty, illiteracy, son – preference etc. need to be removed. Since these barriers operate simultaneously at different levels, it is difficult and rather impractical to assign priorities to them. It is obvious that increase in literacy and educational status of women will have positive effects on population control, infant mortality, health care, nutrition, sanitation and hygiene. Further, it will result in raising the age of marriage, improved knowledge of contraception and adoption of small family norm. Population control and Family Welfare Programme need to have a national consensus, cutting across political, religious and cultural differences. It should be based on active community participation and has to be transformed from a Government Programme into People’s Movement. Population education should be part of school and college education. It should also form an important ingredient of adult education and non-formal education. Communication strategies should be so devised as to be effective enough to bring about attitudinal changes and dispel apathy, ignorance and misgivings about family planning and small family norm. In conclusion, it is important that people not only have proper health services which are both accessible and available, but they should also have access to employment which will provide them with financial security. People must be made educated and have awareness, as education itself is the best contraceptive. People should realize that having a girl child does not mean carrying a heavy burden.

Groups and Culture Essay Example for Free

Groups and Culture Essay Cultural and social expectations dictate that individuals as members of one culture or society interact with other members, it is in the interpersonal relationships and interactions that the individual has with others that socialization occurs (Hofstede, 2000). The first interpersonal relation that an individual in any culture would have is confined in the family. Growth and maturation however dictates that the individual relate and interact with other people outside of his or her family, this could be teachers, caregivers, classmates and friends. Interacting with other people widens the perspective of the individual, in play children learn how to communicate and compromise, in the classroom, they learn to compete and cooperate and in the workplace, they learn to conform and collaborate (Hofstede, 2000). Everyone is part of a group, be it the family, a neighborhood, a class, a department, or a community. A fully functioning and healthy individual would be a member of two or more groups, and for each group, a different set of rules and expectations apply. A universal characteristic of groups is that it consists of two or more individuals who are interacting and behaving towards a common goal. Within this setting, group members constantly communicate, cooperate, and conform to the rules and objectives of the group (Guss, 2002). For example, a gang of adolescent boys had been formed based on friendship, and each member subscribes to the rules of the gang, thus behaviors like rites of initiation are meant to strengthen the member’s commitment to the group. The goal of the gang may simply be to cultivate their friendship and protect each other, thus the members would cooperate in order to achieve that goal (Brew, Hesketh Taylor, 2001). In contrast, a group of teenagers in a bus is not really a group because they do not have shared rules and expectations, although they may have the same goal, and that is to reach their destination. Groups also tend to form and break up over the course of life events and human development. The behavior of groups and its members are also heavily influenced by the dominant culture in which it is situated. A group of workers in a collectivist culture like that of South Korea would strongly conform to the rules and regulations of the organization they work for (Hofstede, 2000). Complaints against company practices or policies are expected to be minimal such that collectivist cultures places value on group cohesion, unity, and cooperation. Workers in South Korea would believe that they are working not for themselves but for their families, their organization and their country. Thinking of one’s self above others in this culture is frowned upon, thus, not many individuals take leadership roles because it calls attention to oneself (Hofstede, 2000). Thus, workers conform without question, they cooperate with the given policies and they build relationships among the workers. On the other hand, a group of workers in an individualist culture like the US is not as easily conforming and cooperative as the workers in South Korea. Individualist cultures places importance on individual achievement, individual differences, self-expression and nonconformity (Hofstede, 2000). Workers in the US would join organizations that provide them with the opportunities for individual achievement and professional growth. To a certain degree, US workers do conform to the expected behavior of workers, but only if they perceive it as a necessary requirement of their individual performance. For example, workers generally attend company activities because they get something out of it, or because it is required of them to come and attendance would have positive implications in one’s performance rating (Hofstede, 2000). In this culture, workers are vocal about their ideas and opinions about the organization’s policies, they are confrontational such that demanding increase in one’s salary is the norm, not the exception. References Brew, F. P. , Hesketh, B. , Taylor, A. (2001). Individualistic-collectivist differences in adolescent decision making and decision styles with Chinese and Anglos. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 25, 1-19. Guss, C. D. (2002). Decision making in individualistic and collectivistic cultures. In W. J. Lonner, D. L. Dinnel, S. A. Hayes, D. N. Sattler (Eds. ), Online Readings in Psychology and Culture (Unit 4, Chapter 3), (http://www. wwu. edu/~culture), Center for Cross-Cultural Research, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington USA. Hofstede, G. (2000). Cultures consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations (2nd ed. ). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Business Essays Entrepreneurs Business Knowledge

Business Essays Entrepreneurs Business Knowledge Entrepreneurs Business Knowledge Literature Review Several studies have shown that entrepreneurial ventures are one of the main contributors of new firms (Storey 1994). An increasing number of people in the UK are starting or are considering starting up their own business. These individuals are commonly known as ‘entrepreneurs’. The word entrepreneur was of French origin which evolved into meanings such as people who take risks, and founders of businesses (Hennessy 1980). They have evolved from simple merchants to more sophisticated corporate men. Entrepreneurs can also be defined as ‘people who organise and manage a business undertaking, assuming the risk for the sake of profit’ (yourdictionary.com 2008), however there is much more to entrepreneurship than a simple definition. There are different types of entrepreneurs who possess certain traits that make them successful in business. Research carried out by Kortschak (2008) discusses five traits that successful entrepreneur’s small and medium-sized companies share: Making strategic decisions based on limited data – good entrepreneurs tend to make decisions based on 80% of the data they have to hand, as they understand that waiting to learn more could mean a missed opportunity. Learning from mistakes – this trait is often seen in serial entrepreneurs who have experienced one or more business failures, which they often learn more from that mistake than the success. Understanding their own weaknesses – the best entrepreneurs understand their area of expertise, strengths, and weaknesses. Even though they have a general understanding of other disciplines they realise they lack knowledge in other areas for example, technical. In this case the successful entrepreneur would hire experts who can complement their skills. Spot patterns and key data – Kortschak (2008) identifies that the common environment in which an entrepreneur enters is dynamic where the structure of the industry, the nature of the customer base, or they overall way of doing business has not yet been determined. Successful entrepreneurs who run their companies are generally confident in building structure where none is in place; in addition to identifying patterns they are able to separate relevant information from irrelevant data. Partnering successfully with others – success in business is mainly about partnership. It is important for an entrepreneur to communicate well with others to work with fellow partners in agreeing business decisions and to communicate well with their team in accomplishing business objectives. Poor communication and being unable to work with others results in an unsuccessful business. It has been said many times that there is an entrepreneur behind every successful business. This can be due to a number of reasons but the one that many tend to overlook is personalities. One of the reasons for most successes is that the entrepreneur with the right personality and attitude was right for that particular business, for example, Bill Gates was seen as ‘The Visionary’ for his innovative ideas, and Anita Roddick, founder of Body Shop was seen as ‘The Improver’ as she wanted to improve the environment using natural ingredients in her products and ridding harsh chemicals and animal testing of cosmetics. Zahorsky (2008) identifies that there are nine personality types of entrepreneurs: The Improver – with this personality type the entrepreneur is more focused on using their company as a means to improve the world / environment. They have an ability to run their business with high integrity and ethics. Example of an entrepreneur, Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop. The Advisor – this business personality types provides a high level of assistance and advice to customers. The motto with this personality type is the customer is right and everything must be done to please them. This personality types build their companies to become customer focused. Example of an entrepreneur, John Nordstrom, Founder of Nordstrom. The Superstar – with this personality type the business is normally centred around the charisma and high energy of the superstar CEO and more than often the business is built around the entrepreneurs own personal brand. Example of an entrepreneur, Donald Trump, CEO of Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts. The Artist – with this personality type the entrepreneur will tend to build their business around the unique talents and creativities they posses for other businesses demanding creativity such as web design. Example of entrepreneur, Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert. The Visionary – an entrepreneur with the visionary personality type will most likely be based on the future vision and thoughts of the founder. This personality type will have a high degree of curiosity to understand the world around you and set up plans to avoid the problems. Example of entrepreneur, Bill Gates, Founder of Microsoft Inc. The Analyst – this personality type is often the basis for science, engineering, or computing firms that are well known for problem solving. The entrepreneur possessing this personality type will run their business as an analyst and always focus on fixing problems in a logical way. Example of entrepreneur, Gordon Moore, Intel Founder. The Fireball – the entrepreneur with this personality type will be full of life, energy, and optimism. Their company would make customers feel the firm has a ‘get it done’ attitude in a fun way. Example of entrepreneur, Malcolm Forbes, Publisher, Forbes Magazine. The Hero – the business run by the hero personality type would have an incredible will and ability to lead their company through any challenge and can assemble great companies. Example of entrepreneur, Jack Welch, CEO GE. The Healer – the healer personality provides nurturing and harmony to their business and an ability to survive with an inner calm. Example of entrepreneur, Ben Cohen, Co-Founder of Ben Jerry’s Ice Cream. An entrepreneur’s business personality types and traits are some of the key success factors that blend with the needs of the business. With this combination businesses excel further. The media gives a great deal of attention to those who start their businesses with nothing and turning it into large successful organisation. An increasing number of entrepreneurs are young individuals with fresh ideas and an energetic attitude. However an entrepreneur’s age, educational background, and previous business-related experience is not as nearly as important as his or her desire to learn and willingness to bounce back from the obstacles associated with creating a new business endeavour (a trait that successful entrepreneurs share). A typical entrepreneur starts their business by using their savings, re-mortgaging their house, or borrowing from friends or family at a low or interest free rate which can be beneficial when starting out. Eventually the business starts to grow or the finance sources start to dry up, either way the business is in need of financing, which is defined as ‘money to implement a project; it is usually used to mean money lent, or equity provided’ (mos.gov 2008). When small businesses have actually become successful and have a track record then venture capital firms and banks will consider funding the business. Venture capitalists are defined as ‘professionally managed organisational investors’ (Harrison and Mason 1992). Even though banks are a popular and major source of finance for new and growing businesses, they have become less willing to lend money to new ventures (Mason and Harrison 1995, business angel book). Research from Oates (1992) suggests that major retail banks are apprehensive to financing new ventures after the losses in the early 1900s. Prior to this banks had been willing provide high levels of funds to finance start-up and expanding businesses, this was during the macro-economic boom of the mid 1980s (Murray 1994 business angel book). However the recession following this growth led to a considerable increase in the number of small businesses failing. The bank of England’s quarterly bulletin in February 1994 reported that throughout the recession (1992 – 1993) business failures had risen to 55,000 a year. This compared to a more normal rate in the 1980s had more than doubled, and the vast majority of these failures were in the small business sector. Thus the effect of this was a substantial increase in bad debts suffered by banks. The strain of these bad debts and their negative impacts on profits led to banks being reluctant to finance businesses that have just started out. Smith (1994 business angel book) suggests that many banks prefer to use short-term overdraft finance rather than long-term, fixed-rate financial packages. This is because shorter-term packages are not as damaging when the business experiences financial difficulties, however banks will cater for new businesses that have an extremely strong and promising proposal. This has led banks to avoid financing small / medium sized firms, thus leaving a gap in the market for financing smaller businesses. The venture capital industry in the UK is very well developed but does not adequately cater for young businesses. Murray (1994, business angel book) views the venture capital industry as not being a major source of finance for entrepreneurial ventures. One of the reasons why most venture capitalists avoid small business investments is because they are not pleased with administrative tasks that come with these investments, especially when the likely return is not substantial and does not compensate the amount of work required for young entrepreneurial ventures. According to Smith (1994 business angel book) venture capital firms focus more a great deal on management buyouts and the development of established existing businesses, rather than new ventures. Due to this stance of venture capitalists it has led them away from the small / medium sized firms, which also has resulted in a gap for new entrepreneurial ventures. The table ? below highlights some of the main differences between business angels and venture capitalists. Table ? – Business Angels vc Venture Capitalists Source: www.1000ventures.com As it can be seen from table there are many differences between business angels and venture capitalists. The table highlights an imperative point discussed earlier of business angels investing at the start-up / early stage of a small business whereas venture capitalists invest at a later stage of medium to large organisations. The table also shows that business angels are more active and hands on in their investments (active angels) whereas the venture capitalists are more strategic. The gap between family/friends and banks is often referred to as an ‘equity gap’. Financial Times interviewed Peter Jones (an extremely successful entrepreneur and investor) who quotes that there is a funding gap out there for entrepreneurs starting out and that finance is available for them but very hard to find and at this stage for an entrepreneur it is probably the single most biggest hurdle (Moules, Financial Times, 2006). The challenge of overcoming this equity gap is amongst one of the topmost reasons for small businesses not achieving their full potential. According to an article in The Guardian most entrepreneurs overcome this obstacle by obtaining finance from ‘Business Angel’s’ (Kollewe 2007, Guardian). Business Angels are successful entrepreneurs running successful businesses, they invest in budding entrepreneurs in return for a percentage of the business and tend to invest in businesses that have the potential to return a healthy profit. The term angel was originated by Broadway insiders in the early 1900s to describe wealthy theatre-goers who made high risk investments in theatrical productions (Mason 2005). The term business angel was given to those individuals who perform essentially the same function in a business context (Benjamin and Margulis 2000). However, this type of business financing has only become significant since the 1950s and 1960s. Business angels are now defined as private, wealthy individuals who invest their own money as well as their time in small, young, unquoted companies with whom they have no family connections (Deakins and Freel 2003). BNET.com (2007) defines business angels as an affluent individual who provides capital for a business, typically an equity investment. It is well known that angels rarely loan money without any strings attached (i.e. investing in return for a percentage of the business equity); they most often support entrepreneurs and new businesses. Landstrom (1993) states that most business angels have the same characteristics overall. He profiles them as heterogeneous group of people, as almost all business angels are or have been entrepreneurs from different backgrounds. However research carried out by Coveney and Moore (1998) suggests that there is more to a business angel than just wanting to make money. Coveney and Moore (1998) discuss that there are six different types of business angels. (See table 1 – table of different angels in book page 11). Entrepreneur Angels – these are the most active angels and experienced investors. They tend to have been successful entrepreneurs and now looking for ways to diversify their portfolio or expand their current business. They are well known for making frequent and large scale investments, not just for financial gain but for satisfaction of making investments and interacting with the founders/managers. They are also considerable wealthier than other individual business angels. Corporate Angels – these are companies that make angel type investments. These types of angels have been found to invest larger funds than other business angels and have corporate resources at their disposal (Coveney and Moore 1998). They tend to invest mainly for financial gain. Income Seeking Angels – are active business angels who make few and small investments for financial gain and to generate income/job for themselves. Wealth Maximising Angels – are a group of active business angels who have made several investments in new and growing ventures, they make their investments primarily for financial gain. They are generally wealthy but not as wealthy as entrepreneur angels. Latent Angels – these angels are inactive angels who have made one or two investments in the past but not in the last three years. Latent angels are self made private individuals who are very wealthy and have vast amounts of funds to invest. When looking to invest latent angels will be concerned with location of the venture as they would prefer to invest in opportunities close to home, as shown in table (ba v svc)?. Virgin Angels are angels who have not made an investment as of yet but are looking to finance new and growing businesses to create an income for themselves and to increase the return on their investment as much as they can. Virgin angels have fewer funds to invest than active angels. According to Mason and Harrison (1995)(business angels book) there are more virgin angels than active angels and that if half of the virgin angels became active then the total informal venture capital market would grow to ten times the size of formal venture capital market. Most of the time angels prefer to be ‘active angels’ as they like to invest in ventures and monitor their investments to ensure success. Similarly they prefer to invest in new young companies that are at their start-up stage and within close proximity to their home or work place (Harrison et al 2003). However research shows that although angels prefer to be active angels there are more virgin angels than active. (please see chart below). Chart ? – Business Angel market could become 10 times larger Source: www.1000ventures.com Chart (above) shows that in 2000 there were more virgin angels recorded than active angels, this suggests that there are reasons for business angels not being active in investing in entrepreneurial ventures. If the virgin angels could find the right venture to invest in then the business angel market could potentially increase significantly. Could this be solved by angels den? Mason and Harrison (1995)(business angel book) state that most small / medium sized businesses are successful because of the right angel that has backed the business. This could also suggest that the wrong angel could mean failure of the business which is not the case as business angels have experience in all areas of running an organisation but are experts in certain areas, thus this does not mean the business would be unsuccessful. As mentioned earlier Business Angels fulfil an increasingly important funding niche, as banks only loan capital at interest, and venture capitalists invest relatively large sums generally when businesses wish to expand (see appendix I), which leaves the angels to support numerous new businesses each year. The critical issue for young vibrant businesses is finding sufficient funding for start-up and growth (Southon, Financial Times, 2008). Most entrepreneurs first look to banks, and venture capitalists for funding, these sources however can fund only a small percentage of businesses. It is now common for young businesses to find funding from business angels as they cater for this funding niche. The involvement of banks investing in entrepreneurs is lower than the venture capitalist investments (Fiet and Fraser 1994). Some of the benefits of banks entering venture capital finance are discussed by Fiet and Fraser (1994). One of these benefits suggests that the participation of banks would contribute to the elimination of the widely reported capital gap that may exist for funding new ventures. However due to the low involvement of banks investing in new and young entrepreneurs this has increased the involvement of business angels. There have been surprisingly few attempts to compare business angels with non-investors (banks). This is largely due to the fact that their exact population is unknown, however as mentioned earlier a number of studies show that there has been a significant increase in recent years. It is evident from Fiet and Fraser’s (1994) research that business angels provide much more funds for new businesses than venture capital firms and banks, yet their existence is not as well known as banks. Mason and Harrison (1995)(business angel book) state that the reason for business angels not being well know as other investments is because many of the investments made by business angels goes unrecorded by the government due to the scale of investments. Research undertaken by Macht (2007) discusses the post-investment period of business angels and their involvement and impact upon their investments. This study focuses solely on business angels where a survey was administrated online and electronically to business angels to explore their involvement and impact on their investments after the investment had been made, hence post-involvement. This was a useful analysis of why business angels invest and what motivates them. However the research does not consider the entrepreneurs or any other investment when the analysis was carried out. The study by Macht (2007) could add value to this research when assessing what factors business angels contribute in their investment and what sets them apart from banks. There are many banks offering loans to entrepreneurs to either start up their business or support the expansion of the business. Banks requires a thorough business plan submitted for them to evaluate whether the individual is credit worthy, whether they will be able to pay their loan, and within what timescale. According to Small Business Administration (SBA) the most common way entrepreneurs finance their growing or expanding business is through banks (SBA 2008). Banks provide the finance needed if the individual can demonstrate the ability to keep in business, and their ability to repay the loan and meet the firms other obligations. SBA (2008) state that a more difficult route of obtaining finance is from business angels and venture capitalists as these individuals and firms assist companies to grown in exchange for equity or partial ownership. (refer to appendix – show a graph of a business life cycle, i.e. start-up, expansion, maturity etc). SBA (2008) claim that there is no such thing as one hundred percent financing and that it would be required from the entrepreneur to invest some funds into the business before a lender will provide financing, especially banks. However research has shown that business angels have financed entrepreneurial ventures one hundred percent based on the entrepreneurs idea / invention. Dragons Den has become a popular show on television where a group of angels form a network to invest in budding entrepreneurs who pitch their business ideas to the business angels. It has become apparent from this program that business angels have provided one hundred percent finance in entrepreneurial ventures. When applying for finance to business angels they generally would want to know details of the entrepreneur’s current financial situation and background, however with banks it is much more complex than this. There are several questions a bank would need answers to before they would consider any application for a business loan such as, the specific purpose of the loan, the amount you are requesting, when and how long you would need the funds, how the loan will be repaid, what collateral will be used, and whether the business owners will provide a personal guaranty of some sort. A typical loan request involves the following components: Statement of purpose – outlining your purpose of the loan, what it will be needed for, and for how long etc. Business plan – outlining what the business does and it’s short and long term goals. Financial statements this will outline the financial capacity and performance of the business which is important as it will give the lender an insight to how you have generated revenue in the past and how you will continue to do so in the future. A thorough complete loan application alone would not suffice when borrowing funds from a bank. Further evaluation would need to be done on an individual’s financial background to see if they are credit worthy, this is different to the evaluation of the business financials. According to Barclays Plc bank, there are three aspects of credit in making loans decisions which are outlined below. Character – a check on your financial status and personal credit history. Capacity – having sufficient cash flow to pay off the loan. Collateral – providing assurance to the lenders as a last resort should the business not prove profitable. Collateral is a key aspect when applying for finance to a bank. Banks would want to lower the risk of lending as much as possible so that they would feel more confident the loan would be paid on time and in full, which is why they require security on assets, i.e. house, car. Majority of banks offer various loan packages for those wishing to start up or expand their business. This is with the intention to suit the loan to the needs of the particular business. For example, a common loan that banks offer are the small business start up loan package, which are only available on a guaranty basis. The small business loans are not fully guaranteed by the Government where normally if a payment default occurs; the Government will reimburse the lender for its loss up to a certain percentage. To be eligible for a small business loan the firm must not exceed one hundred employees in a wholesale business, or generate more than $21 million in annual revenue (HSBC 2008). This varies for a manufacturing firm (please refer to appendix ? – SBA slides 15). In addition to this, assistance cannot be proved to non-profit organisations, firms involved in illegal activities, or a monopoly situation or businesses engaged in pyramid sales. The small business loan can be used for many purposes such as, purchase of land and buildings, long or short term working capital needs, or purchasing an existing business. Other loans offered by banks are special purpose loans, and basic micro-loans. The special purpose loans serve specific markets such as export markets. The special purpose loan is designed to be short lived that is only required at times of market needs. The basic micro-loans are small loans for small businesses who struggle to obtain conventional financing but have good prospects for repaying the loan back. The micro-loans are under $35,000 but on average the loan size is $13,000, according to Halifax bank plc. These loans help finance the equity gap however are subject to the entrepreneurs’ potential in repaying the loan. (need to find accurate referencing for these banks mentioned, also change $ to  £. P.s. click on slide link for info). As mentioned earlier, if approaching a business angel for finance then the business angel would need to know financial and background specifics of the entrepreneur and the venture. For an entrepreneur, preparing a business plan is vital whether it be for banks, venture capitalists, or business angels. The hardest part to obtaining finance from a business angel is to actually finding business angels, as business angels are not as publicly known as banks nor are they known for financing as many investments as banks do. Similarly it has been hard for business angels to finance investments due to a lack of access to a range of investments. Hughes (1996) found that business angels would invest more frequently if they had access to a better range of investments; however he also stated that many potential ventures which meet the minimum criteria of business angels still goes unfunded. This shows that the right type of business angel cannot gain access to the right type of venture. Recent research shows that in order to overcome the hurdle of the angel meeting the right investment, vice versus, business angels have come together to form networks (FT Moules 2007). This allows a group of angels to combine their funds together to offer larger investments for entrepreneurs needing larger finance. Thus the entrepreneur also benefits from having more than one business angel on board to provide the business with their expertise and knowledge. As mentioned earlier, Dragons Den is a group of business angels who invest in entrepreneurial ventures that are brought forward to them. There have been several cases where more than one angel has invested in the same venture. There has been further development of the traditional angel networks of meeting entrepreneurs face to face. Angels Den has been one of many to launch an online networking website that specifically aims to connect entrepreneurs with business angels (FT Moules 2007). How this works is that the users of this service would pay a small fee of around  £100 to pitch an idea to the websites private investors. If the idea is liked then entrepreneur must pay a larger fee of around  £400 to pitch a full business plan. From this point if the investor is interested in the pitch then a face to face meeting is arranged. The fees that are charged for these websites are to be said a ‘fraction of the cost of traditional marketing’, according to Financial Times 2007, Moules. Angels Den does not take equity stakes in funded businesses or a percentage cut from completed deals, and the service is free to business angels (angelsden.co.uk). The website encourages business angels to join which is free for them to do so; this is beneficial for entrepreneurs as it does not discourage business angels from joining hence increasing their chances of finding the right angel. This method is gradually becoming well known to the public thus increasing the exposure of business angels. It would therefore become much easier for entrepreneurs to find business angels and not feel banks and venture capitalists are the only accessible alternatives for finance, especially for those that have poor credit and no security to offer banks. It would also be easier for the government to measure the investment activity on annual basis and realise that business angels do make more investments than currently recorded that fill the equity gap (FT Mason, 2007). There had been attempts in the past to achieve similar objectives to the online networking sites as discussed above, these were referred to as business introduction services. They had tried to act as communicators between entrepreneurs seeking capital and interested potential investors; however this service did not exist online. According to Hughes (1996) these organisations had not been very successful in overcoming the problem of filling the equity gap, which still exists to this day. An article by the businesszone.co.uk states that one of the most common mistakes that individuals’ starting out in business make is assuming that they can reach their full potential by themselves. Whereas Dragons Den angels Theo Paphitis, and Peter Jones claim that the biggest mistake entrepreneurs make is over-estimating the value of their company and not having enough cash to sustain the business. As Theo Paphitis quotes â€Å"cash is king†. Even though business angels seem to be more beneficial as investors than banks Drury (2008)(nzherald.co.nz) states that the vast majority of business angel deals do not proceed well. This can be because companies can often take much more time than the angel had thought and also more cash than forecasted. This could also be because the angel that has made the investment is a first time angel investor and thus lack experience. Drury (2008) also states that some angel investors may not know they are an angel yet as anyone moderately wealthy could potentially be an angel if they find a venture to invest in. There are many ways to define beneficial, prenhall.co.uk defines beneficial as ‘producing or promoting a favourable result’. In terms of investing in entrepreneurs and which investment would be beneficial for entrepreneurial ventures this can be measured by reviewing what factors are advantageous for the entrepreneur and their business. Some of the factors can include the following: Finance provided Interest rate Expertise Knowledge Using business angel contacts Involvement from the investor to improve things No involvement from the investor, therefore less interference in the business Studies have shown that business angels can provide added value beyond financial capital (Ehrlich et al 1994). Having a business angel invest in the venture can help sustain competitive advantage, which is beneficial for the entrepreneurs’, as the angels bring more than capital to the business; they can bring their experience, contacts, and expertise to progress the business further. The resource-based perspective argues that sustained competitive advantage is generated by the unique bundle of resources at t

Define Normal Book Talk :: essays research papers

What if you had to peer council a person that you couldn't even stand! Would you be mad? Or what would you do if it happened to you? One of the main characters is a girl named Jasmine but they call her Jazz for short. Jazz is basically a goth girl and she has black hair with a little pink on top. She goes to high school and is around the age of 15. Jazz is in a pretty bad mood usually but it just depends on what she is doing. The other main character's name is Antonia. Antonia is a very smart girl and helps other people out with their problems. She is like a councilor. She has about shoulder length dirty blond hair and is pretty average in height for her age. She is usually in a good mood but sometimes she can get mad or sad. The last main character is Antonia's mom. She has pretty good attitudes depending on what she feels like. She is in her mid-30's. Antonia's mom smokes and she has been really sick lately. Her mom is that antagonist in this story because she can't even get out of bed unless she feels good. Since her mom has been sick, Antonia has to take care of everything around the house, including her brother. So one day Antonia was at a freind's house and her mom and brother decide to go on a picnic and when they were done she took her son to a motel, and then left to go to a bar down the road. When she was done at the bar, she went back to the motel and passed out on the floor. So when Antonia got home, nobody was there. About a half an hour later, her brother called and said that their mom had passed out and that they were at a motel. Her brother didn't know the name of the motel so he looked around and remembered the bar. He told his sister the name of the bar that their mom had gone to and then she knew right where they were.

Comparing the Flood and Creation in Ovids Metamorphoses and Genesis Es

"Where did man come from? Where did time begin? Who, or what, created all things?" These are questions that mankind has sought to answer from the beginning of existence as it is known today. Many stories and fables have been told and passed down from generation to generation, yet two have survived the test of time and criticism. The Biblical account in Genesis, probably written by Moses around 1500 B.C., and the story of creation and flood in Ovid's Metamorphosis, written somewhere between 8 and 17 A.D., have weathered the criticism and become the most famous. The Genesis account, however, may be the most prominent of the two accounts. Within these accounts, are many similarities, as well as differences, which make these two writings well respected, while holding their own in the literary world. Though both accounts of the creation and flood are well respected on their own, when compared side to side, they are drastically different. Ovid's purpose for writing the creation story is geared more towards explaining creation as it happens, in his opinion, whereas the Bible stresses the fact that the God of the Hebrews is responsible for the world's existence today. Overall, Ovid is very detailed in explaining the formless mass, creation of the earth, waters and land metaphorically. The Biblical account seems to be more plain, simple, and organized; not spending time on intricate detail. There seems to be no specific time frame for creation in Ovid's writing, whereas, the Bible states that it takes God six ... ...mal species. As one can see, when comparing each of the accounts of the flood and creation in Ovid's Metamorphoses and Genesis, there are some very similar actions or events that take place in each of these accounts, while separating themselves a great deal by putting emphasis on very different messages. It is because of these variations in writing and technique that each of these poems have acquired and maintained the respect they truly deserve through many years of evaluation and criticism. Works Cited New American Standard Bible. Nashville, TN: Broadman 1977. Ovid. Metamorphoses. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed. Maynard Mack. 5th edition. New York: Norton 1987. 549-560.

Competition :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Two best friends are torn apart. A man meticulously plots revenge on the person who got the job he was dying for. A nation is full of rage and fear because another country beat them in the race to walk on the moon. Sadly, all of these situations were caused by one thing, competition. In Alfie Kohn’s essay, â€Å"Competition Is Destructive†, he describes competition as having a â€Å"toxic effect on our relationships†(11). Although competition has many positive effects in this world, when talking specifically about relationships, whether it be between best friends, two strangers, or even entire nations, it fuels negative feelings and attitudes that transform people into monsters. Close relationships often have their ups and downs. When one spends enough time with a person it is inevitable that they will have an argument. Best friends, for example, share everything with each other. They laugh together, cry together and trust one another completely. Yet throw a boy that they are both interested in into the picture and they are lying and backstabbing their way into his arms. Or perhaps they are both dying to play Juliet. Suddenly they view each other as enemies who will stop at nothing for the part. One might spread rumors about the other or sabotage her audition. Even something as innocent as grades can turn into a knockdown, drag-out, fight to the finish. They resort to cheating, or anything that will give them a leg up from the other. These crazy situations are just a few of the many examples that show how competition can create feelings of resentment, bitterness and even hatred between people who at one point were inseparable. Competition between good friends is not the only instance in which negative feelings can occur. Surprisingly, the exact same feelings of resentment and hostility can happen between two perfect strangers. With no valid reason, children and adults alike can work up an enormous grudge against a person that they have never spoken to, or possibly never even seen. Take for instance a boy on a high school football team. Off the field he is a respectable student who is always considerate of others. Yet the second he steps on that field he transforms into a monster who is out to â€Å"get† the other team, to â€Å"show them who’s boss.† He has never met these people before and has no reason to feel such anger towards them other than the fact that they are standing in the way of his team winning the game.

A Doll’s House: Nora’s Character Essay

From the first moments of her entrance, the audience perceives Nora Helmer as a spoiled, childish young woman. She is revealed as a loving woman who wants to spoil her family with more Christmas gifts that she may be able to afford. She also continues to eat macaroons in secret, deliberately against her husband’s wishes, which shows a child’s stubbornness and determination. Throughout Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House, Nora Helmer grows from what the audience perceives as a flighty, immature child to a level-headed, mature woman. After the entrance of Mrs. Linde, Nora’s childhood friend, the audience learns that Nora has borrowed money – something that women of that time were not permitted to do. Not only did she borrow money, but she borrowed it through an unscrupulous banker that Torvald works with, Krogstad. Although her intentions were admirable, Nora’s partaking in an illegal practice showed more immaturity on her part. Having to lie to Torvald about what she was doing with the money he gave her only further proves that she was not capable of handling such a serious transaction. During Nora’s talks with Torvald over Krogstad, Torvald says, â€Å"Almost everyone who goes bad early in life has a mother who’s a chronic liar† (Ibsen 1527). This news causes Nora to panic and shut down all contact with her three children. While a statement such as that does warrant some kind of reaction, Nora’s extreme actions show a blind confidence in her husband’s words. She believes that everything he says must be gospel. If she had more knowledge of being a mother, she would have known that she could challenge his bold words. Although many people are able to see goodness in others no matter how slight it may be, Nora blindly assumes that because she has three small children, Krogstad will not reveal their transaction to Torvald or the authorities. At the beginning of Act II, she says, â€Å"Nothing terrible could happen. It’s impossible. Why, I have three small children† (Ibsen 1527). A more experienced woman would know that nothing, not even something as sweet and innocent as children, can get in the way of a desperate man. From Act II to the end of the play, Nora continually refers to a miracle. It seems that she wished Torvald would take care of the whole situation with Krogstad once he found out about it and love and praise her for her sacrifice. After he outright condemns her, calling her a criminal and a liar, Torvald accuses Nora of wrecking his happiness, tells her she must never see the children, and blames her father’s parenting for the entire situation. When Nora realizes Torvald is not going to suffer for her sake or take on her guilt, something in her snaps. Even after they get Krogstad’s note back and burn it, she knows things cannot remain how they have been in the past. She says, â€Å"I’ve been your doll-wife here, just as at home I was Papa’s doll-child† (Ibsen 1552). By the final scenes of the play, the audience watches as Nora blossoms into a strong, independent woman. She refuses any money that Torvald offers her, and finally challenges some of his words. She tells him that he may have the strength to â€Å"make himself over† if his â€Å"doll gets taken away† (Ibsen 1555). That small exchange proves that she is not merely running from her problems, but she genuinely wants Torvald and herself to have a chance to change. At last she walks out the door but leaves Torvald with the hope that someday they might have a true marriage. She sighs, â€Å"You and I both would have to transform ourselves to the point that†¦ That our living together could be a true marriage† (Ibsen 1556).