The Role of Financial Intermediation in Banking

The Role of Financial Intermediation in Banking Financial intermediaries exist to solve or reduce market imperfections such as differences in preferences of lenders and borrowers, transaction cost, shocks in consumers consumption and asymmetric information. Theories developed to explain how financial intermediaries reduce market imperfection: Asset transformation Transaction cost reduction Liquidity insurance Informational economies of scale and delegated monitoring Asset Transformation Asset transformation is a process performed by financial intermediaries to transform particular types of assets into to others. This is to satisfy the need of borrowers for long term capital and the need of lender for high degree of liquidity in their asset. Financial intermediaries transform the primary securities issued by firms into indirect securities by lenders. They issue liabilities (deposit claims) which are short term, low risk and high liquidity, and use parts of these funds to acquire larger, high risk and illiquid claims. 3 Main Transformations Maturity Transformation As the liabilities of financial intermediaries mature faster than their assets, financial intermediaries mismatch the maturity of the assets will maturity of the liabilities by making long-term loans and fund them by issuing short-term deposit. Size Transformation The amount required by borrowers are much more than the amount made available by lenders. Financial intermediaries will then collect and combine the funders from lenders as required by the borrowers. Liquidity Transformation Financial intermediaries provide financial or secondary claims or loans. Deposits which are held under liabilities of banks balance are low risk and high liquidity, while loans which are held under the assets of banks balance are riskier and illiquid. To hold liabilities and assets of different degree of liquidity, financial intermediaries will diversify their portfolios. More diversification will lower the default probability. Risk Transformation Financial intermediaries must be seen by the lenders as a safe place to make deposits. However, the loans made by the intermediaries to the borrower bear some default risk. Therefore, financial intermediaries have to transform risk to reconcile the preferences of borrowers and lenders. Firstly, banks use credit scoring to select good borrowers with good repaying loans history to minimize the risk of loss of each loan. Second is to diversify risk by lending to different types of borrowers. Banks try to avoid heavy concentration on an economic activity or on a particular area. They also limit the amount that can be loan out. Example: From 1985-1989, 400 Texan banks failed which are resulted from heavy concentration on their loan portfolio in real estate dependent on the oil businesses. Third is by pooling risks. Variability of losses can be reduced by making loans to many borrowers. Although by making out many loans does not reduce the loss in the portfolio of loans overall, but it increase the bank accuracy of prediction and limits maximum loss for which the intermediaries has to allow. How financial intermediaries reduce transaction costs? Financial intermediaries reduce transaction costs by internalizing them. They make network and information system available to lenders and borrowers. As such, lenders and borrowers do not have to find a suitable counterpart each time they want to make a transaction with the other party. Financial intermediaries also provide standardized products which help to reduce the information cost related with scrutinizing individual financial instruments. They also use tested procedures and routines. Theory of transaction costs Economies of scale refer to the transaction costs per dollar of output is reduced as the number of financial transactions increase. Example: When using loan contract for many loans, the unit cost of a contract per loan is lower than a loan contract drawn up individually when undertaking direct lending. Economies of cost refer to the cost of producing at least 2 products together is lower that producing them individually. It is concerned with deposit and payment services, because deposits are legal financial claims which allow banks to collect funds to sustain their lending activities and satisfy the request of making payments. Expertise They developed expertise to lower transaction cost. Financial intermediaries such as banks and mutual funds develop in information technology such as ATM to provide liquidity service. Asymmetric Information Adverse Selection It arises when borrowers who are likely to produce undesirable results are the one who are actively seeking loans, because they know that they are unlikely to pay it back. Adverse selection increases the probability that the loan might become a bad credit risk. Hence, lenders may decide not to loan out, even when there is good credit risk. Moral Hazard It is the risk that occurs after the transaction has been made. It is the risk that the borrower may engage in activities which is undesirable from the lenders point of view because there a likelihood that the loan will not be repaid. Therefore, lenders may decide not to make loan. How adverse selection influence financial structure? Equity Market When borrower wanted to make investment and yet is unable to distinguish between good and bad firms, he is only willing to pay the price the price that reflects the average quality of firms. However, the firms have more information than the investors and will know the quality of the projects. Good firms will not be willing to sell the securities because they know that their securities are undervalued. Only bad firms are willing to sell their securities at the average price because the price is higher than the value of bad firms securities. However, investors may not want to buy securities from bad firms and end up decides not to buy any. Bond Market A potential investor will only be willing to buy a bond if the interest rate is high enough to compensate him the average default risk between the good and bad firms. Good firms will not want to borrow funds because they know that they are less risk adverse and should not pay an interest that is higher than what they originally should pay for. Only bad firms are willing to pay for such interest rate. However, investor does not wish to buy bond from bad firms. Subsequently, there will be fewer bonds sold in the markets. Tool used which helps to reduce or solve adverse selection problems Private production and sales of information Government regulation to increase information Financial intermediaries Private companies such as Standard and Poors, Moodys and Value Line gather firms financial position and investment activities, and sell them to potential investor. Such information will help investors in making more accurate investment decisions. However, this does not completely solve the asymmetric problem because of the free-rider problem. The free-rider problem occurs when individual who do not pay for the information take advantage of the information of which others has paid for. An investor who has paid for the information knows which the are good firms. He decides to buy securities of good firms that are undervalued. The free-riding investors observe which securities is the investor who paid for information is buying, will buy the same securities. This leads to increase in demand of the securities and soon the price of that security will increase to reflect the true value. As a result, because of these free-riders, the investors who bought the information will not benefit. As such, he will realize that he should not buy the information in the first place. If other investors also realize this, private companies may not be able to make enough profit from producing the information, and less information is produced in the market and so adverse selection will interfere with the efficient function of securities markets. Government regulation to increase information Government could regulate financial markets to ensure that firms disclose all information so that investors could distinguish between good firms and bad firms. In United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the government agency that requires firm selling securities to be certified in adhering to standard accounting principles and disclose honest information about their sales, assets and earnings. But, government intervention on disclosing information does not solve adverse selection completely because accounting principles can be manipulated. Also bad firms can slant information which is required to transmit public to make them look like good firms. By doing so, they can get higher price for their securities. Thus, investors will have problem again to identify which firms are the good ones. Financial intermediaries Financial intermediaries such as banks have developed expertise in the production of information so that they can evaluate the quality of firms better. Banks produce information through the transactions on the borrowers bank accounts. From the transactions, banks will be able to determine the suitability of credit and ability to repay the loan. Banks then acquire funds from depositors and lend them to good firms. By lending the money to good firms, banks will be able to earn a higher return than they pay to depositors. Banks will then earn profit and can continue in producing information. Also, banks can make profit because it can avoid free-rider problem. They make private loans which are not traded in open markets. As such, other investors cannot follow what the bank did and bid the price of loan where the bank does not get any gain for the information it produces. Fact: Banks are important to developing countries. When banks produce information, the problem on asymmetric problem is less severe, and it will be easier for firms to issue securities. Information in developing countries is difficult to get as compared to developed countries. Therefore, banks have to play the role in producing information. Collateral Collateral which is property that promised to the lender if the lender default, reduces the adverse selection problem because it reduces the lender losses if the borrower goes into default. How moral hazard influences financial markets Moral hazard occurs after the transaction takes place. It is the risk that the borrower may engage in risky activities which is undesirable from the lenders point of view, because the loan may be unpaid. Because of the presence of moral hazard problems, firms find it easier to raise fund with debt instruments rather than with equity contracts. Moral hazard in equity contracts Equity contracts subject to a type of moral hazard known as principal-agent problem. In a firm, there are managers and stockholders. Usually, managers and stockholders are different people. Managers are the ones who have more information than the stockholders while the stockholders own most of the firms equity. The separation of ownership and control and with the presence of asymmetric information, managers may act in their own interest rather than the interest of the stockholder because managers have fewer incentives to maximize the profit that the stockholder do. Tools to help reduce/solve moral hazard in equity markets Production of information: monitoring To reduce moral hazard problem, stockholders can engage in the monitoring of the firm activities by auditing the firm frequently and checking on what the management is doing. However, monitoring can be very costly. (Monitoring is a costly state verification). This also explains in parts why equity is not an important element in the financial structure. However, this could also cause free-rider problem. Free-rider problem reduces the moral hazard problem. Because, when stockholder knows that other stockholders are paying for the monitoring activities, he can free ride on their activities. If all stockholders share the same mentality, no stockholders will be willing to pay for the monitoring activities. Government regulation to increase information Governments enforce laws to ensure that firms are adhering to accounting standards which can verify the profit easier, and impose penalties on people who committed fraud in hiding or stealing the profit. However, this measure is not very effective because managers have the incentive to make fraud difficult to be proven. Financial intermediaries active in the equity market An example of financial intermediaries is the venture capital firm which cans helps to reduce moral hazard arising from the principal-agent problem. They use fund of their partners to help entrepreneurs in setting up new businesses. In exchange for the use of funds provided by venture capital firm, venture capital firm get an equity shares in the new business. Because verifying profit is important in eliminating moral hazard, venture capital firms usually insist on having several of their own people to participate in the management of the firm. Also, the equity in the firm cannot be sold to anyone but to the venture capital firm. Therefore, other investors are unable to free-ride on the venture capital firms activities on verifying profit. Debt Contracts Debt contract is a contractual agreement by which the borrower promised to pay lender fixed amount at regular intervals. The amount of profit made by firm will not affect how much will the lender be receiving. Therefore, whether did the managers have been hiding or stealing profit or engaging in activities which do not increase the level of profit earned, it is of no concern to the lenders, so long as the firm is able to make payment. Only when the firm is unable to make payment as promised, then will the lenders have to know how much profit is the firm getting. As such, less monitoring is required for debt contracts and therefore, lowering the cost of state verification. This also explains why debt contracts are used more often than equity contracts to raise funds. The concept of moral hazard explains why stocks are not the most important source of financing for businesses. How moral hazard influences financial structure in debt markets Although debt contracts has lower moral hazard as compared to equity contracts, but debt contracts are still subjected to moral hazard. Because debt contracts only require firms to pay a fixed amount and allow them to keep profit above this amount, firms have an incentive to take on risky investment projects Tools to help reduce/solve moral hazard in debt markets Making debt contract incentive-compatible High net worth makes the debt contract incentive-compatible; it aligns the incentive of the borrower with that of the lender. Firms with higher net worth are more likely to act in the way that are desirable form the lenders point of view, and thus reducing moral hazard problem, and it will be easier for firms to borrow. Monitoring and enforcement of restrictive covenants By introducing restrictive covenants into debt contracts, moral hazard problems are be reduced, as restrictive covenants is a provision which restricts firms activities by either ruling out undesirable behavior or encouraging desirable behavior. There are mainly four types of covenants/ Covenants to discourage undesirable behaviors Such covenants restrict firms to use the debt contracts to finance on fixed assets or inventories. Others may restrict firms to engage in risky activities such as acquiring other businesses. Covenants may also disallow firm to issue new debt or dispose it asset, and may also restrict dividend payments if ratios such as leverage ratio, ratio of debt to equity has up to a certain level. Covenants that encourage desirable behavior Such covenants require the borrower to have a life insurance that pays off the loan upon the death of the borrower. Such covenants may also encourage firms to keep it net worth high because firms with high net worth reduce the moral hazard problem. Hence, it minimizes the chance that the lenders may be making losses. These covenants require firms to maintain minimum holding of asset relative to the size of the firm. Covenant to keep collateral valuable Such covenants encourage borrower to keep the collateral in good condition and it must be in the possession of the borrower. Covenants to provide information Such covenants provide information about its activities periodically in the form of quarterly accounting and income reports. Such covenants may also allow the lender to audit the firms anytime. This explains why debt contracts are complicated legal documents with restrictions on borrowers behavior. Covenants reduce moral hazard but do not eliminate them, as it not difficult to rule out every risky activity. Also, to ensure that firms are complying with the covenants, monitoring must be enforced. However, monitoring is very costly. Investors may free-ride on the monitoring activities undertaken by other investors. Financial intermediaries, particularly banks are able to avoid the free-riders problems

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Welcome staff, students, family, and graduates. Today marks a special day in our lives. Today is the day of our graduation. It seems with every graduating class there is a certain amount of responsibility placed on the graduates. For this year’s class it is no different, in fact more has been placed on this class than any others in history. The Class of 2006 is going to shape our world for the 21st century; the Class of 2006 is going to improve our lives and our country. We can talk all we want about the things we want to accomplish or change, but if we do not reach out for opportunities, then all of these ideas are fantasies. This is what I want to talk about with all of you today. First, what is an opportunity? An opportunity is the chance to do something to improve ourselves or the lives of others. When we were freshmen, our teachers, counselors and administration urged us on to excel in the classroom, join a sports team or help with an activity for the school. As we grew older we had to motivate ourselves to do these things. There is a young lady graduating tonigh...

Insanity in Shakespeares Hamlet - The Madness of Hamlet Essay

The Madness of Hamlet    William Shakespeare, in the tragedy Hamlet, designed two characters who exhibit symptoms of madness: Ophelia and the prince. Hamlet states his own madness as intentional, purposeful, for the carrying out of the ghost’s admonition. But does Hamlet’s pretended insanity actually touch on real, actual insanity from time to time, or is it consistent? Phyllis Abrahms and Alan Brody in â€Å"Hamlet and the Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy Formula† consider the madness of the hero to be completely feigned and not real: Hamlet is a masterpiece not because it conforms to a set of conventions but because it takes those conventions and transmutes them into the pure gold of vital, relevant meaning. Hamlet’s feigned madness, for instance, becomes the touchstone for an illumination of the mysterious nature of sanity itself. (44-45) Hamlet’s first words in the play say that Claudius is "A little more than kin and less than kind," indicating a dissimilarity in values between the new king and himself – introducing into the story a psychological problem, a refusal to conform, which lays the groundwork, or previews, the upcoming pretended madness. As the future king of Denmark, the hero is expected to maintain a good working relationship with the present king, Claudius. But this is not so. Even before the apparition of the ghost, Hamlet has a very sour relationship with his uncle and stepfather, Claudius. Hamlet’s first soliloquy deepens the psychological rift between the prince and the world at large, but especially women; it emphasizes the frailty of women – an obvious reference to his mother’s hasty and incestuous marriage to her husband’s brother: Must I remember? why, she would hang on him,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As if... ...: Hamlet. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. Rpt. of â€Å"O’erdoing Termagant: An Approach to Shakespearean Mimesis.† The Yale Review 63, no.3 (Spring 1974). Foakes, R.A.. â€Å"The Play’s Courtly Setting.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. of â€Å"Hamlet and the Court of Elsinore.† Shakespeare Survey: An Annual Survey of Shakespearean Study and Production. No. 9. Ed. Allardyce Nicoll. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 1956. Rosenberg, Marvin. â€Å"Laertes: An Impulsive but Earnest Young Aristocrat.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Masks of Hamlet. Newark, NJ: University of Delaware Press, 1992. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html

Literary Analysis: Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants

Ernest Hemingway’s short story ‘Hills like White Elephants’ depicts a couple, â€Å"the man† and â€Å"the girl†, casual conversation over drinks while awaiting the arrival of a train to Madrid. The story ends, as vaguely as it started, with the two about to embark on the train. Heminways’s use of ambiguous and vague language, dialogue, characterization, and metaphors in ‘Hills like White Elephants’ could leave his readers bewildered to the underlying subject matter of its plot. However, by properly citing and analyzing the literary techniques used by Hemingway; one is able to conclude that the main characters discuss their feelings and concerns about the possibility of an abortion. Throughout the short story ‘Hills like White Elephants’, Hemingway has chosen to address his main characters as â€Å"the man† and â€Å"the girl†. By patterning these words in addressing his main characters, Hemingway alludes to their difference in age and emotional maturity towards the conflict that they face. Hemingway, to suggest the female character’s younger age and her naivety about an abortion, uses the word â€Å"girl†. The reader is able to confirm that Hemingway does not conceder all females to be â€Å"girls† through the introduction the secondary character, the waitress, who brings the couple their drinks. Hemingway then continues to address this secondary as â€Å"the woman†; and thus, alluding the word â€Å"girl† only refers to the young and naive character of Jig. On the other hand, Hemingway’s usage of the word â€Å"man†, in referring to his male character, indicates a more mature and realistic view the character has on the idea of an abortion as a solution to the unwanted pregnancy. The metaphor employed by Hemingway to allude towards an abortion can be found in paragraph 46, where â€Å"the man† explains to â€Å"the girl† that the operation will simply â€Å"†¦let the air in and then it’s all perfectly natural. † (p. 445). The male character then ambiguously refers to his feelings to the pregnancy as, â€Å"†¦the only thing that bothers us. It’s the only thing that’s made us unhappy. † (p. 445). An earlier allusion to the differences between the main characters, and how each will respond to their conflict, has been conveyed through their conversation found in paragraphs 17-32. The dialogue by, and associated with, â€Å"the man† is confidante, assuring, tentative, and slightly condescending towards â€Å"the girl†. Likewise, the dialogue in paragraphs 17-32 connected with â€Å"the girl† is uncertain, passive aggressive, childlike, and earnestly striving for her partner’s guidance. Ernest Hemingway’s short story â€Å"Hills like White Elephants† depicts a young couple in the mist of an uncomfortable conversation regarding their choice of action towards an unwanted pregnancy. Though the subject of an abortion is not directly addressed, in â€Å"Hills like White Elephants†, Hemingway uses ambiguous metaphors, vague dialogue, and generalized characters help him to set mood between his two main characters. The reader’s understanding and ability to recognize the usage of literary tools by Hemingway is the key to decode this hazy plot.

Sara Lee Corporation

Sara Lee Corporation (Case study) 1. Executive Summary This case study provides an evaluation of Sara Lee Corporation and particularly its operations of product lines available through the Wal-Mart stores. To begin with, an effective SWOT analysis of the company was conducted where strengths and opportunities are identified while addressing possible threats and improving its weaknesses to avoid giving the competition an aggressive advantage. Marketing requires effective identification of issues as a key factor in devising the best methods of addressing them. Therefore, Kirk Nelson identifies the BasicHipster style to be a major problem in the market because it was not doing well. Effective establishment of the best possible solution is therefore critical to maintain the corporation’s market share for the Wal-Mart Account. This analysis generates key alternatives that Kirk Nelson as the Sara Lee Wal-Mart Girl’s Panty analyst should consider in getting out of the current deadlock. This study recommends that Sara Lee Wal-Mart account should retain the FashionBikini due to its better performance compared to the New FashionBikini and introduce back into circulation, the new BasicHipster. . History or introduction Sara Lee Corporation is a fortune 500 company listed on the NYSE. They mainly mass market their diverse product lines of food and beverages, branded apparel, and household products through large retailers like Wal-Mart and Target, but also smaller store as well. Sara Lee, under the Hanes branded apparel operates a produ ct line of underwear called Girls Panty (GP) targeted girls ages 4-12 that include 3 cuts or styles: FashionBrief, FashionBikini and the BasicHipster. The Girl Panty line in Wal-Mart had to meet its sales and supply standards. Sara Lee Corporation maintained high sales due its ability to analyze its products on the basis of the market demand and thereby maintaining the customer’s preference. This case study provides a comprehensive analysis of the corporation’s Girl Panty line in the Wal-Mart account, identifies the strengths and weaknesses, recognizes the marketing problem, generates alternatives, make a recommendation and finally offers an effective implementation strategy. 3. SWOT Analysis Strengths Sara Lee has been identified as having 3 key strengths. First, their ability to employ highly experienced supply chain analysts made it easy for all the members to effectively carry out their roles and cite possible shortcomings on time and come up with workable solutions to address it. Second, Sara Lee’s longtime history has demonstrated that their products built on leadership brands represent high quality, affordable, casual clothing for everyday use, thereby creating brand loyalty and a strong attachment to its products. Finally, relationship building and retention is another key strength for Sara Lee. The trusted partnership between Sara Lee and Wal-Mart was two-fold. Wal-Mart served as a strong distribution channel partner with deep market penetration, while Wal-Mart relied on Sara Lee’s wide portfolio of well-known and established brand names. Weaknesses According to the case, the corporation suffers some weaknesses. To begin with, the girl panty suppliers are international and therefore subjected to key external forces such as cultural factors, religious considerations, strikes and unrests which made supply uncertain (Case, 427). With some of the supplies coming from external suppliers, the waiting period was very long and therefore unpredictable (Case, 427). Sara Lee’s market share for the BasicHipster was performing poorly. A New BasicHipster product was in the process of being developed but not yet primed for distribution. Opportunity One of the key opportunities that Sara Lee had was its ability to establish the need for new products and make them to replace those whose sales were on the decline in the market. According to the case (431), Kirk Nelson was informed of a suitable replacement for the BasicHipster after indicating its poor performance. Threats Notably, Sara Lee had one key threat to its operation in its Wal-Mart Account, the Fruit of the Loom brand. Global competition was fast emerging in regions such as Eastern Europe, South East Asia and the Middle East powered by technology and cheap labor. Due to this global atmosphere, Fruit of the Loom rose as the main competition in the underwear category (Case 426). 4. Case Analysis Sara Lee Wal-Mart account division analysis was the most effective at marketing as it provided a crosscutting evaluation of the product’s performance. Kirk Nelson was deeply involved in generating the most recent information before meeting his boss (Case p. 425). As a result, it acted as a critical organization in promoting sales at the stores at low prices and sustainable supplies (Case 427). As a result, this relationship promoted the internal sales at Wal-Mart while creating the needed impression in other external Sara Lee branches. In addition to that, the corporation had an effective supply from its widespread supply chain by maintaining distribution centers for its products (Case 427). To ensure that the products, promotion, and pricing were perfect, the analysts’ recommendations were subjected to extra scrutiny and further refinement. This reduced possible cannibalization and provided more effective recommendations on aspects such as replacements of less performing products. Even after analyzing the performance of the BasicHipster style, the decision to replace it had to further be analyzed (Case 428 -430). 5. Marketing Problem Due to the lack of performance from the BasicHipster style, it was temporilary replaced with the New FashionBikini until the New BasicHipster was finished. After watching the sales do well for over a year in all three styles: FashionBrief, FashionBikini and the New FashioBikini, the New BasicHipster was ready for the shelf. Should Sara Lee replace the old or the New FashionBikinis with the BasicHipster or should they consider leaving both FashionBikinis selling side by side and not introduce the New BasicHipster? Of course, that decision depends on how well the FashionBikinis (old and new) are working together. Establishing an effective solution to this problem was a key issue in that the product was expected to be free of cannibalization in the market. 6. Alternative Solutions Sometimes analysts make important decisions while generating the sought after revenue and steer their products towards maintaining effective competition. Looking at the marketing problems brings to mind several solutions Sara Lee should analyze. First, Sara Lee management could consider maintaining the status quo as it is, keeping all three lines: FashionBrief, FashionBikini and New FashionBikini. In doing so, they keep their sales steady without risking the loss of market share and shelf space. Since the FashionBrief was preferred by younger girls while the FashionBikini and the New FashionBikini was preferred by the older girls, this apparent age difference only complimented each other because they each had their own target market. The downside to this is having 2 style cuts that are alike such as the FashionBikini and New FashionBikini because the product line lacks the diversity in styles and limits your target segment. Both of the Fashion Styles are not targeted to the economy buyer such as the BasicHipster would be and limits your wide range of pricing for consumers. Second, Sara Lee could consider the option to delete either the FashionBikini or the New FashionBikini and bring back the new and improved BasicHipster while keeping the FashionBrief. According to Kirk, he mentions that the sales of the BasicHipster were performing poorly but no graph or sales figures were provided in the case for a comparison. After charting the sales volume for the exact same year and periods of time between the FashionBikini and the New FashionBikini (see exhibit â€Å"A†), there was a sales increase $125,348 where the FashionBikini outperformed the New FashionBikini by 154%. Keeping in mind that the New FashionBikini was only being sold in 1700 store compared to 2300 stores, the increase was still significant. Since keeping both FashionBikini styles on the shelf along with the Fashion Brief and adding the new BasicHipster was not an option, Kirk would have to make a decision to delete at least one of the Bikini lines. Given the sales data, the one to cut would be the NewFashionBikini. This would give Sara Lee three distinct styles that include a new line of cut, the BasicHipster, which would diversify their product line an appeal to the economy priced buyer and retain the sense of the original hipster to the consumers while giving then a new sense of the market. The downside to this alternative would be risk losing market share. If the BasicHipster was not performing well to begin with maybe bringing the style back might repeat the same results. Again, without numbers to compare, the risk is still prevelant. On the other hand, the BasicHipster is the New BasicHipster with a new color scheme which could result in a greater market shre while appealing to consumers. 7. Recommendation Sara Lee should consider replacing the New FashionBikini with the New BasicHipster based on 3 reasons. First, I had to anaylze the sales of the FashionBikini and the New FashionBikini so I knew which one to elimanite in order to introduce the New BasicHipster. After careful anaylsis I found that the sales of the old FashionBikini were $125,348 or 154% higher than the sales of the New FashionBikini given the same time period. Also, by not having the BasicHipster style on the shelf for over a year, it would create a need for the product by the consumer. Second, a diverse product line in terms of price and cut would be available appealing to the ecomonic consuios buyer with the New BasicHipster, as well as those consumers who desired more colors and print themes as with the FashionBikini and Fashion Brief lines. Lastly, by keeping the FashionBikini and FashionBrief line, the two had already been in the market and would not require the intensive promotion demanded by a new product. In addition, the sales and market share should remain contstant and even increase while the promotion for the New BasicHipster takes hold. 8. Implementation By adding the new BasicHipster a whole new marketing campaign will be designed around the the new product including commercials aimed at young girls ages 4-12 . email marketing, free giveaways, Further analysis to determine possible cannibalization should first be conducted in the Sara Lee Wal-Mart Account to track the sales volume and market share. By introducing the already New BasicHipster, a new advertising and promotion effots will take place informing the consumer of this new line and style choice. Revising the NewFashionTh e for the first year to determine if any changes need to be made. If no changes are required, further analyses of the products lines will contunie for another 2 years until their life cycles are near the end whne 1 and continueof the 3 increase the chances of raising sales of the FashionBikini. Besides, Sara Lee should gradually increase the quantity of the FashionBikini to account for the added sales from the deleted New FashionBikini line while continuing to expand on the growth and promotion of the New BasicHipster to ensure a smooth transition. In addition to that, the corporation should intensify promotion of the FashionBikini to further inform and persuade consumers to buy it at Wal-Mart. Finally, a critical review of the FashionBikini should be maintained to seek consumers’ further preferences while making possible adjustments on their preferences. ———————– Surname 6

Boy Cry

In his telling novel, Real Boys, William S. Pollack spends much of the work making a strong social commentary on some of the issues and problems associated with growing up. For the author, growing up is something that has gotten more and more difficult over the years and certain problems must be handled by society. The book succinctly discusses the various roles that educators, parents, friends, and society plays in raising a child to be a man. It discusses what can be done on both an individual level and a parental level, while addressing how children respond to different motivations from the outside.The impressiveness of raising these important social questions is bested only by this book’s ability to answer those questions. The most important aspect of young male development to the author is the context in which a boy is raised. By this, it means that a boy in North America has a hard time coming to a firm understanding of both who he is and who he is supposed to become. Th e book talks at length about the many â€Å"codes† by which a boy is required to live in the United States. Instead of being able to find himself within the context of his life, a boy must adhere to a double set of social standards.In addition to adhering to new age principles, boys must do their best to uphold the long standing male tradition of being â€Å"tough† and being â€Å"manly†. As Pollack shows with his real life examples, this type of pressure does not allow a boy to realize the proper context. This is important because it eventually stunts development and, according to the author, can lead to some very serious consequences. Among those are drug use, violence, learning disabilities, and psychological disorders. The author makes the point to state some solutions for these problems, instead of focusing solely on the problems.That is one of the important and interesting aspects of the book. One of the solutions has to do with a likely source in a boyâ⠂¬â„¢s development. According to the author, parents have to play a pivotal role in a child’s development if that child is going to become a success in society. This is where the idea of parental gatekeeping comes into play. Parents must not only do what they can to raise a child financially and physically, but they must also make a commitment to raising the child’s psyche. This does not mean that parents are always supposed to be the child’s biggest fan, nor are they to be his biggest detractor.In order for a boy to eventually grow into a man, the parents have to be something of a middle man in this. They must let enough good in to encourage the boy in his development, while keeping him grounded enough to stay on the right track. This is a slippery slope, but one that parents must tread down if they want to raise a boy properly. Another neat thing in the book is that the author takes the time to not only address widespread developmental issues in regards to boy s, but also to address specific problems that stand in the way in today’s society.Among those are some touchy topics that most parents and all schools have trouble dealing with. Though it might seem like a small thing on the surface, the author makes sure to mention that one of the biggest developmental problems facing boys in American society is friendlessness. Though it is not something that affects all children, it has an impact on a significant number of individuals. As such, there are lots of boys who grow up through elementary and middle school without knowing what it is like to have a friend.This affects boys in a couple of different ways. For one, they struggle with confidence issues as all of the individuals around them thrive. In addition, they miss out on learning some of the important things that go along with friendship. They do not learn how to handle their emotions or work with other human beings to figure out interpersonal problems. These things might seem min or to some, but to the author, they are huge stumbling blocks that society has failed to take down. In the book, the author does not speak in pure generalities.Though he makes several general points that can be applied to boys across the board, his primary objective is to identify specific problems that have specific solutions. When addressing the problems of boys, he spends a great deal of time and energy breaking down the problems that exist in schools when it comes to development of boys. Above all of the other parties responsible for raising boys to be men, he feels that schools have the great influence and thus, are doing the worst job at this point. In the book, he mentions some specific ways that parents must feel that their kids are being wronged.In his book, Pollack makes mention of some of the questions that parents must ask when he writes (1999), â€Å"Do the school’s teachers and administrators know about the boy code? Do they understand the mask? Are they sympat hetic to boys? Does the school teach subject matters and use classroom materials that interest my boy? † (p. 231). The author goes on to discuss that the answer to these questions is, all too often, no. The author places a significant amount of focus on the job that teachers and administrators are doing within the schools.In addition to not being well equipped to handle the emotional rigors that boys go through during their developmental years, schools are having a hard time zeroing in on the academic problems that boys are facing. The author specifically mentions the subjects of reading and writing as weak areas for boys, and goes on to talk about how school administrators are not doing enough to catch these problems and work to improve them. Because schools are not noticing academic issues at the beginning, boys are being allowed to struggle their way through school.This is one of the primary reasons why boys struggle on the outside of school. With their self-esteem shot and their confidence destroyed by problems within school, they are forced to then face their own development in a world that is becoming tougher and tougher on people their age. Fundamental problems, according to the author, are causing even great consequences on the outside of schools. All in all, the book is an excellent commentary on the many problems that young men face in a changing world. Getting from boyhood to manhood used to be easy, but now it is more of a challenge.Unfortunately, the world has not accommodated for the extra challenge, so boys are expected to handle their issues with the greatest of ease and the greatest of strength. That, in effect, is the message of the book. According to Pollack, parents, teachers, school administrators, and society at large is failing the young male population in North America. Until more is done to correct the problem, more and more young boys will find drugs, violence, and a handful of other issues to fill their plate in lieu of their o verriding issues. References Pollack, W. (1999). Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood. Owl Books.

Forgive My Guilt

In this poem, the Ol' Higue tells of her frustration with her lifestyle. She does not like the fact that she sometimes has to parade around, in the form of a fireball, without her skin at night. She explains that she has to do this in order to scare people, as well as to acquire baby blood. She explains that she would rather acquire this blood via cooked food, like every-one else. Her worst complaint is the pain of salt, as well as having to count rice grains. She exhibits some regret for her lifestyle but implies that she cannot resist a baby's smell, as well as it's pure blood.The ‘newness' of the baby tempts the Ol' Higue, and she cannot resist because she is an old woman who fears death, which can only be avoided by consuming the baby's blood. She affirms her usefulness in the scheme of things, however, by claiming that she provides mothers with a name for their fears (this being the death of a child), as well as some-one to blame when the evil that they wish for their chil d, in moments of tired frustration, is realized. She implies that she will never die, so long as women keep having babies.Poems: ‘Ol’ Higue’ and ‘Le Loupgarou’ The what – Content: Theme – The supernatural, stories used to explain unknown or phenomena. Beliefs held by society custom – culture Ol’ Higue – name given to woman who haunts babies – this results in sickness or death. Practices govern how this situation is treated – use of salt, rice grain and the sun. This belief has held its root and will not go away – because as long as babies get sick and die – blame will be cast on Ol Higue.The Form – Layout of poem  3 stanzas written in free verse – this facilitates the type of poem – dramatic monologue – persona’s expression of her feelings. This also allows for introspection as well as involvement of the reader/listener to participate in the situation. The How – Structure Dramatic monologue Diction – use of colloquial and expression relating to society eg. ‘dry-up woman’ Movements among and within paragraphs – reader/listener invited to sympathize with her pleading to listeners – then to justification of actions – acceptance of relevance to society and mothers.Use of punctuation and lineation – question marks, ellipsis, exclamation – facilitates the dramatic monologue style, supports the changes in emotions and the need for the listener/reader to see from her point of view. Use of imagery – ‘few drops of baby blood’ blood running in new veins, ‘fly come’(literal and figurative) ‘Believe me-‘short line – to prepare the reader and solidify what is to come – an acceptable truth. See Notes on English B pg. 32-33 Comparison to other poem‘Le Loupgarou’ – a sonnet – hence more structure is e vident in terms of lineation, rhyme scheme Use of end and eye rhymes, poem divided into an octave and sestet Delving in the world of the supernatural – a realistic situation – a man Le Brun – being used and told as something supernatural. Story told as a rumour – section about him turning into a werewolf – this is to both facilitate the extent of his actions what happened to him and the women’s dislike of him. Use of imagery and literary devices – oxymoron ‘Christian witches’ howled and lugged.Both poems Caribbean in nature – custom and tradition – affects practices done and treatment given to and by people. Ol’Higue’s story facilitates the mothers’ explanation for the unexplained (sick or dead baby) – while the story of Le Brun and what has been added on by the women – facilitates their gossip and what the community holds on to. You will observe that both poems deal with t he supernatural. The Soucouyant is the counterpart of the Le Loupgarou. They both make a pact with the devil to engage in mysterious and fiendish dealings. They both are greedy and are ruined through their greed.They both evoke fear in the people around them. Derek Walcott was born in 1930 in the town of Castries in Saint Lucia, one of the Windward Islands in the Lesser Antilles. The experience of growing up on the isolated volcanic island, an ex-British colony, has had a strong influence on Walcott's life and work. Both his grandmothers were said to have been the descendants of slaves. His father, a Bohemian watercolourist, died when Derek and his twin brother, Roderick, were only a few years old. His mother ran the town's Methodist school.After studying at St.  Mary's College in his native island and at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, Walcott moved in 1953 to Trinidad, where he has worked as theatre and art critic. At the age of 18, he made his debut with 25 Poems, but his breakthrough came with the collection of poems, In a Green Night (1962). In 1959, he founded the Trinidad Theatre Workshop which produced many of his early plays. Walcott has been an assiduous traveller to other countries but has always, not least in his efforts to create an indigenous drama, felt himself deeply-rooted in Caribbean society with its cultural fusion of African, Asiatic and European elements.For many years, he has divided his time between Trinidad, where he has his home as a writer, and Boston University, where he teaches literature and creative writing. From Nobel Lectures, Literature 1991-1995, Editor Sture All?n, World Scientific Publishing Co. , Singapore, 1997 This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and first published in the book series Les Prix Nobel. It was later edited and republished in Nobel Lectures. To cite this document, always state the source as shown above.