Critically assess the use of environmental principles in environmental Assignment

Critically assess the use of environmental principles in environmental law - Assignment Example At present, the guidelines of the international environmental law play an imperative part that imposes considerable impact upon the notion of sustainable development. Environmental evaluation is quite essential for upholding the sustainable development of society as well as useful for establishing necessary laws related to environment. Apart from the factor of global warming, the aspect of climate change also contributes largely upon affecting the natural environment by a greater extent. Since the year 1960, several environmentalists took significant initiatives for reducing pollution, cleaning up the wastes, implementing strict laws for every individual of different nation, minimizing wastage products and introducing recyclable materials for the manufacturing of new products. In the year 1969, United States National Environmental policy Act referred that every societal member must follow the environmental laws in order to mitigate the impact of global warming. The major reason for e stablishing the international environmental regulation is for addressing social as well as environmental factors that have been considered as the root cause of global warming. By taking into concern the present environmental situation, it has been apparently observed that there has been drastic increase of pollution due to huge augmentation of carrier vehicles and industrial wastes. In order to make control of all these environmental aspects, lawyers and various environmentalists implement certain effectual environmental principles in order to create awareness about preserving the nature within the community people (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, 2012). This paper intends to critically assess the execution of environmental principles in environmental law concerning different significant aspects. These aspects include the different principles relating to environmental law, environmental regulation and protection along with international and European Environmental La w. Principles of Environmental Law Polluter Pays Principle The ‘Polluter Pays Principle (PPP)’ is considered as an effectual guideline concerning the environmental policy. This policy implies that community people must take deliberate initiatives towards preventing the increased level of pollution. The major objective of the ‘PPP’ is to internalizing the external activities of environment so that every community people can become quite conscious towards maintaining the cleanliness of nature. The principle of international environmental law was initiated in the year 1972 and it is recommended by ‘Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’. OECD is recognized as a council that established the guidelines concerning international environmental law. The council stated that these guidelines should be executed for assigning the costs that are incurred for the prevention of pollution. Moreover, the council also introduced as well as implemented certain crucial initiatives with the intention of properly utilising the limited environmental resources (Lucia, 2010). The core meaning of the PPP is that any polluter should incur the costs in relation to the safeguard and the control

Nursing Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Nursing Philosophy Essay Introduction Philosophy originates with the Greek word philosophia, which translates as the love of wisdom. Philosophers are engaged in inquiry concerning the search for truth, the nature of universe and the meaning of human experience. Welch Polifroni(1999). The aim of this paper is to compare and contrast the philosophical paradigms of Realism, Antirealism, Phenomenology , Postmodernism. To relate the Empiricism, Positivism, Historicism, and Relativism to the nature of scientific truth. Moreover, to discuss the significance of truth for nursing as a profession and as a science. The various paradigms are characterized by ontological, epistemological and methodological differences in their approaches to conceptualizing and conducting research, and in their contribution towards disciplinary knowledge construction. Weaver, and Olson. (2006). Table 1 illustrate theses differences between these philosophical paradigms. Realism and Antirealism Realism has an ontology which states that the structures creating the world cannot be directly observed. Its epistemology is that appearances do not necessarily reveal the mechanisms which cause these appearances, and its methodology therefore  involves the construction of theories which can account for these appearances. Wainwright,S. ( 1997). Realism, in the Aristotelian, holds that things and individuals have existence independent of human thought and that this extra-mental world is intelligible and forms a basis for evaluating propositions about the world. Whelton,B. (2002) 2 Philosophy course –First Assignment Positivism collapses the world into a single plane of events. In contrast, realism recovers the ontological depth between the three stratified domains and thereby establishes relations of natural necessity rather than the relations of logical necessity  (universality). Wainwright,S. ( 1997). Relevance of Realism to Nursing Realism proposes a common ontology and epistemology for the natural and social sciences. Realism enables the traditional natural and social science division in subjects like geography, psychology, medicine and nursing to be bridged. Realism can therefore provide ontological and epistemological basis for nursing. Wainwrigh( 1997). On the other hand, the interest her in the causal and epistemological ingredients of scientific realism because they support the claim that explanations are important in nursing science  and practice and that the aim of scientist is to discover better and better explanations. Gortner, and Schumacher,(1992). Relevance of Antirealism to Nursing It the positivist antirealism that make their views inappropriate for nursing science. It is not possible in positivism to deal with subjective aspects of person, nor with perceived relational processes, nor with explanations without translating them into physiological states or behaviors. One of the most serious consequences of an antilrealist construction of theories is that theories cannot explain. One of the major distinction  between scientific realism and antirealism is the way in which theoretical entities are understood. In the language of scientific realism the term theoretical entities usually means unobservable entities, states, or processes. The antirealists deny the existence of 3 Philosophy course –First Assignment unobservable entities or process. Antirealist assert that the notion of truth or falsity is relevant to observation even though it is not relevant to theory. Gortner, and Schumacher,(1992). Phenomenology For Edmund Husserl, phenomenology is the reflective study of the essence of  consciousness as experienced from the first-person point of view Phenomenology, founded by Edmund Husserl, promotes the idea that the natural world is largely shaped by the human mind. Wikipedia, (2007). Phenomenology is philosophical movement whose primary objective is the direct investigation and description of phenomena as consciously experienced. It remains different from and in opposition to positivism because it is a theoretical, non causal, and attempts to be free of supposition. Welch(1999) P243). Postmodernism The essence of truth lies within the individual and the individual may change or  later alter that view dependent on the context and the circumstances. Thus, the postmodern worldview is that truth neither singular nor multiple; it is personal and highly individualized and contextually driven. Welch Polifoni (1999)p-58) The Significance of Truth for Nursing as a Profession and as a Science. Science, philosophy and philosophy of science are all topics of great significance to nursing†¦the need to examine issues of what it means to know, what truth is, how we know and what can be learned from science and philosophy is central to growth in the 4 Philosophy course –First Assignment  discipline. Simultaneously, it is imperative that nurse scholars gain understanding of the divers scientific and philosophic traditions that have influenced the development of nursing knowledge in order to develop and enhance our science, our discipline and our profession. †. Welch and Polifroni (1999(p-1)) Philosophy of science in nursing seeks to understand truth, to examine prediction, causality and law, to critically relate theories, models and scientific systems. Theses goals are accomplished through the methods of philosophic inquiry of reflection and dialogue. Welch Polifroni(1999(p-5)). In order to understand what truth is, Welch Polifroni(1999) discussed the sources of truth ( Intuition, Authority, Tradition, Common Sense and Science)as well as the theories of truth such as correspondence theory; coherence theory; pragmatic theory; semantic and performative theory. These theories gave different interpretations for truth, for instance, correspondence theory suggests that truth is related to and correspond with reality, the truth is achieved through perceptions of the world, on the other hand for coherence theory, the truth is true if it is coherent while for the pragmatic theory the  truth is relative and related to the practicality and workableness of a solution. According to Newman, Sime and Corcoran-Perry(1991):’’ Nursing is the study of caring in the human health experience†¦nursing body of knowledge includes caring and human health experience. A body of knowledge that does not include caring and human health experience is not nursing knowledge. †. Truth can be achieved through knowing principles and causes of the natural kind behind phenomena. It is proposed that humans are the natural kind behind nursing phenomena. Thus, human nature provides proper principles (the truth) of nursing 5  Philosophy course –First Assignment practice†¦. It is proposed that it is knowledge of human nature that provides principles of human action, and thus human nature is a source of practical truth in nursing. Whelton . (2002). The realist ontological position assumes that an objective world exists independently of our knowledge, beliefs , theories or descriptions about it. This reality exists whether or not we can experience it or have conceptions of its nature. In contrast, several nonrealist positions have also been advanced, incorporating a wide variety of philosophical views pertaining to truth. These positions reject ontological and/or  epistemological realism, and therefore truth cannot be related to an external reality . Lomborg and Kirkevold (2003). However, Gortner and Schumacher (1992 )stated that ‘’ Nursing scholars can explore scientific realism for the insights it may provide for nursing science â€Å". Moreover, Gortner and Schumacher (1992) proposed that â€Å" Scientific realism is relevant to nursing science in the following ways: (1) It supports the full range of nursing theory; (2) It affirms the importance of including subjective client states in nursing theory and refutes the claim of the positivists that if it is not observable, it does not exist. ;(3) It adds the idea of the substantive content of explanations to discussion about forms of explanation;(4) It includes the notion of truth as a regulative ideal in science and claims that better theories are theories that are closer to the truth†. 6 Philosophy course –First Assignment Relate the Empiricism, Positivism, Historicism, and Relativism to the nature of scientific truth Positivism Positivist approaches are founded on an ontology that the things we experience are things that exist. Its epistemology requires that this experience is verified through the  deductive methodology of the `scientific method Wainwright,S. ( 1997). The positivistic philosophy of science will for example argue that scientific knowledge is objective and should be verified accordingly. Nyatanga(2005). The Relevance of Positivism to Nursing : It the positivist antirealism that make their views inappropriate for nursing science. It is not possible in positivism to deal with subjective aspects of person, nor with perceived relational processes, nor with explanations without translating them into physiological states or behaviors. One of the most serious consequences of an antilrealist  construction of theories is that theories cannot explain. Gortner, and Schumacher, (1992). EMPIRICISM Empiricism in its classical sense was a philosophical doctrine that considered observation to be the foundation of knowledge. Gortner and Schumacher(1992). Contemporary empiricism is a paradigm that has the ability to facilitate the application of the scientific facts learned from empirical methods within the appropriate context by taking interpretative knowledge into account†¦ It thus seems apparent that a broader view of scientific knowledge is required, and this is where contemporary views of 7  Philosophy course –First Assignment empiricism are more applicable to the practice of nursing. However, before reviewing the basic tenets of contemporary empiricism, there is a need to provide an overview of interpretive methods and their ability to provide a context or structure for the use of empirical knowledge. Pluralism supports the assumption of contemporary empiricism that human responses can be identified, measured and understood even considering their complex nature. Therefore, an important part of nursing knowledge acquisition includes a synthesis of the data in order to better understand the  synergistic effects of the whole, which cannot be learned simply by studying its parts. Traditional empiricism provides a basis for the study of certain types of knowledge that have made important contributions to the science of nursing. Giuliano,K. ( 2003) The strength of contemporary empiricism is that it values traditional empirical knowledge but takes interpretive knowledge into account in order to provide a context for the appropriate application of that knowledge. The pluralistic nature of contemporary empiricism gives it the ability to bridge the gap between the facts of scientific  knowledge and the use of scientific knowledge in order to facilitate the application of all types of nursing knowledge. Giuliano,K. ( 2003). HISTORICISM The main protagonist of historicism is Kuhn. He was dismayed to find that traditional accounts of the philosophy of science bore no comparison with historical 8 Philosophy course –First Assignment evidence. He then set out to establish a theory of the philosophy of science in keeping with historical evidence as he saw it (hence the term historicism). Nyatanga (2005). Relativism Epistemological relativism view of truth and falsity in general are relative. An epistemological relativist denies that anything at all can be known with certainty. According to hard core epistemological relativism, everything is a matter of opinion, including science. In this view of truth, nursing science has much knowledge that is derived from opinion and personal experience and consequently it is relative knowledge. Summary The importance and significance of the philosophical world views of realism, antirealism, phenomenology , postmodernism, positivism, empiricism, relativism and historicism for nursing science and profession were explored in this paper. However, this  area need more detailed exploration through our philosophy course in order to understand the similarities and differences between these philosophical worldviews and how we can integrate this knowledge in our practice and education. 9 Philosophy course –First Assignment References Giuliano,K. (2003). Expanding the use of empiricism in nursing: can we bridge the gap between knowledge and clinical practice? Nursing Philosophy. 2003,4, pp. 44–52. Gortner,S. and Schumacher,K. (1992). (Mis)conception and Reconceptions about Traditional Science. Advances in Nursing Science, 1992, 14(4):1-11 Lomborg,K. and Kirkevold,M.(2003). Truth and validity in grounded theory – a reconsidered realist interpretation of the criteria: fit, work, relevance and modifiability. Nursing Philosophy, 2003,4, pp. 189–200. Newman,M. , Sime, A. , and Cororan-Perry. .(1991)The Focus of the Discipline of Nursing. Advances in Nursing Science,(1991),14(1)1-6. Nyatanga, L. (2005). Nursing and the philosophy of science. Nurse Education Today (2005) 25, 670–674 Wainwright, S. ( 1997). A new paradigm for nursing: the potential of realism. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 1997, 26, 1262-1271 Weaver, K. and Olson, J. (2006). Understanding paradigms used for nursing  research. Journal of Advanced Nursing 2006 Vol. 53 Issue 4 pages 459–469 10 Philosophy course –First Assignment Welch,M. and Polifoni,E. (1999) . Perspectives on Philosophy of Science in Nursing. An Historical and Contemporary Anthology. Copyright 1999. Lippincott Williams Wilkins . Whelton,B. (2002) Human nature as a source of practical truth: Aristotelian–Thomistic realism and the practical science of nursing. Nursing Philosophy,2002, 3, pp. 35–46 Wikipedia, (2007). Phenomenology. Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. Retrieved October 15, 2007, from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Phenomenology.

Consumer Influences and Behaviour: UK Banking

Consumer Influences and Behaviour: UK Banking Chapter 1 (Intro) 1.1 Introduction To become the leading international bank HSBC has combined the emerging markets through international connectivity and scale yet maintaining the strategy unchanged. To comply with the recent economic turmoil HSBCs strategy is apparently most appropriate one as the projected the return of total shareholders equity remains achievable over full business cycle. Reinvestment of the capital allowed the company to maintain flexibility of direction in accordance with financial and regulatory environment. This can help the company to make the long term decisions supporting the brand values and the customer relationship and the growth to be consistent with the strategy. The ‘Managing for growth a diverse evolutionary strategy ranging from 2003 to 2008 for HSBCs growth and development across the globe addressing the areas where desirable and attainable improvement can be made; was an ultimate success. Unlike competitors, the consistent approach to grow within the emerging markets HSBC did not have to dispose any stakes in strategic investments to generate capitals. Depending on the customer demand and maintaining the strategic line while reviewing the emerging new opportunities, HSBC has successfully survived in the period of uncertainty. The company has increased the number of HSBC Premier Customers to 2.9 million, and the customer volume is increasing highly in the emerging market. During financial crisis and economic recession the global financial markets have suffered a serious impact. Very few banks have escaped unharmed by adjusting to shifts in the global financial and economic environment. Market entry timing decisions are inherently difficult. A firms managers need to consider the influence of so many factors both internal and external to the firm in deciding when to enter a market with a new product (Lieberman and Montgomery, 1991). Firms face a particularly difficult decision of planning when it is best to enter a market with a new product in response to a market introduction of a pioneering new product by a major competitor. Given that pioneering is no longer an option, is it better for the firm to enter the market quickly with a competitive new product or is it better for the firm to delay market entry for strategic reasons. When the competitive stakes are high, it is clearly in a firms best interest for its management to plan carefully such a market entry timing decision by giving careful consideration to a broad array of information including information on the competitor, the competitors product offering, the market, and the firms internal resources and product offerings. Considerable academic research has been conducted that suggests the desirability of certain market entry timing strategies for a wide array of conditions in the competitive environment (cf. Bowman and Gatignon, 1995; Brown and Lattin, 1994; Green et al., 1995). The business world composed of organization and work becoming more demanding and wild. Facing organizations are now facing so many challenges. Among them globalization, customer awareness, higher revenue with minimizing the operational cost, strengthening the organizational capacity, renovation and change, technological implementation, maintaining diverse human capital, and confirming essential and constant change. Fortunately the degree of competition among industry rivals has significantly increased. Now most of the organizations can easily duplicate technology, industrial methods, production, and even strategy. To gain the competitive advantage in the long run, business houses need to establish their own organizational capability (Burke Cooper 2004). 1.2 Background of The Study HSBC is a prominent name in the global banking industry. This bank has been operating successfully all around the world as a local bank with its efficiency and effectiveness. The integrated strategy of HSBC and on time decision made it becoming a threat for other long lived bank in the industry. The strategy the bank had followed make it to cope up with all sorts of cultural barriers and to be along within the society and create the better brand value compare to the other rivals in the banking industry. The reason behind the on-going prospect of this bank is due to a reason which made is to gain the competitive advantage in the global money and investment market. Lately the economic crisis hit the global money market and retail banking industry injuring the performance of all the major players in the industry as the confidence and the trust of the customers were gone. 1.3 Rationale This study is a requirement for the course I am enrolled in. This study will help me to utilize the acquired knowledge/theories and relate them to the applied business. The title was chosen as banking industry is one of the diverse industries and UK is one of the most competitive markets where the industry rivals constantly changing their strategies to adopt with the change and HSBC is one of the best performing banks in it. With the establishment of the purpose given, this study may be of importance to the purpose that have been discussed by fulfilling the objectives, the study will be helpful for researchers focusing on different strategies and innovative techniques with regards to the method of gathering the information. The findings of the research will be helpful for researchers in creating their own means of conducting their study. The significance of this study is the option that it may contribute the findings for the other studies that wish to examine factors for the success or failure of a study. Another importance of the report is to serve as a director for researches that emphasis on defining the effects of an integrated marketing strategy which made HSBC successful in the UK banking industry as well as globally. 1.4 Aim and Objective of the Study The aim of the research to find the answer to the research question â€Å"How can HSBC Continue to Maintain Its Competitive marketing advantage in the UK market?† The objective of this study is to identify the reason behind the success of HSBC and the challenges the company may face in future and the potential strategy the company may follow so that it can maintain its leading position in the UK retail banking industry. So, the prime objectives of the study are as follows: To identify how HSBC operates and what made it unique besides others To identify the attitudes of the UK customers towards HSBC. To identify the attitudes of the company staffs towards existing marketing system. To identify the shortcomings (if existed) of the Strategy being adopted by HSBC To identify the most effective strategy appropriate for HSBC in response to the current financial crisis in UK. 1.5 The Organization of the paper: Unlike the conventional approach this paper is furnished with the industry analysis focusing on the UK banking industry in term of its performance, effective factors leading HSBC to become more successful, the changing switching tendencies of the customers, role of the SMEs in the industry and an overview on the investment criteria in the money market. The study will initially gather information that will serve as introductory part of the study. The study will then gather related literature to prove the need for conducting the study. The literature review can help in determining what are the studies already done, what study needs to be corrected. The study will then determine the methods and means for data to be gathered and analyzed. In this part the data is being readied to be gathered and analyzed but the method to gather it will first be determined. The next part of the study is gathering, presenting and interpreting the data. In this part the validity of the hypothesis and ideas about the study will be proven. The last part of the study will be the part where conclusions and recommendations will be stated. In this part final statement about the study will be done. The study will be organized in accordance with the following order Chapter 2(Literature Review) According to Porter (1985) it is the value chain through which a company can create and offer value to its customers by efficiently utilizing costs and effectively offering the product or services through a lower cost or a higher differentiation. Again Rajnandan (2007) said value chain not only seeks to do away with the activities that do not add value, but establishes the importance of other support activities, including infrastructure, technology, and so on, that play a vital role in providing the foundation for competitive advantage. The value chain also is useful in outsourcing decisions. Understanding the linkages between activities can lead to more optimal make-or-buy decisions that can result in either a cost advantage or a differentiation advantage. (Graeme J. Buckley, 2006) After defining the discrete activities marketers need to identify the linkages between activities. The relationship survives if the performance or cost of one activity affects that of another. Competitive advantage may be obtained by optimizing and coordinating linked activities. (Porter, 1985) The developed opponents expected strategy, where it participates in the marketplace, how it competes, and what it tries to achieve, should be distinct from any strategy pursued by any rival. Those executives charged with visualizing the developed rivals strategy should also be encouraged to go beyond the likely strategies of announced. It is necessary to communicate the competitive variables to the target market as that will force the buyers to prefer the products. Where marketing communications carries the meaning of the companys product attributes, aiding customers reach their goals and moving the company closer to its own goals. (Lancaster, 2002) Marketing efficiency depends on communications effectiveness. The market is activated through information flows. The way a potential buyer perceives the sellers market offering is heavily influenced by the amount and kind of information he or she has about the product offering, and the reaction to that information. Marketing, therefore, relies heavily upon information flows between the seller and the prospective buyer. (Thomas A. Staudt, Donald Arthur Taylor, 1976) The firms value chain links to the value chains of upstream suppliers and downstream buyers. The result is a larger stream of activities known as the value system. The development of a competitive advantage depends not only on the firm-specific value chain, but also on the value system of which the firm is a part. (Kiichiro Fukasaku, 2007) Dramatic changes due to globalization, deregulation, and technology have redefined the nature of business by increasing competition. Significant increases in the speed of competitive response and the number of competitive actions and price cuts have also resulted. Those indicators highlight the intensity of competition. (Gr, Cu, Le, Hu, Ken G, 2005) Unlike the classical concepts, the marketing concept states that the nature of the marketing orientated organisation, whether product or service based, profit or non profit based, is the identification and genuine satisfaction of customers needs and wants, more effectively and efficiently than the competition. The marketing concept has been defined as ‘the key to achieving organisational goals and the marketing concept rests on ‘market focus, customer orientation, co-ordinated marketing and profitability. (Le, Ru, Lancaster, 2002). ‘Marketing Research is a systematic problem analysis, model-building and fact-finding for the purpose of improved decision-making and control in the marketing of goods and services (Kotler, 1999) Strategic capabilities that companies can use to support the strategy they have chosen to pursue. A strategic capability offers a company a sustained competitive advantage when substantial time and effort is required for competitors to develop the same capability. (Susman, 1992) Game theory more specifically, non-cooperative game theory can be a useful tool for investigating a comprehensive model of competitive advantage in that it demonstrates the linkages between resources, competitive moves and responses, and advantage. (Gr, Cu, Le, Hu, Ken G, 2005) The ability and speed with which a company can learn from experience is another strategic capability. The ability to learn is dependent, in part, on how the company captures and accesses information. Companies can simplify this process by minimizing the amount and complexity of information they have to process. (Susman, 1992) Only by gaining a deep and comprehensive understanding of buyer behaviour can marketings goals be realised. Such an understanding of buyer behaviour works to the mutual advantage of the consumer and marketer, allowing the marketer to become better equipped to satisfy the consumers needs efficiently and establish a loyal group of customers with positive attitudes towards the companys products. (Lancaster, 2002) Competitive advantage is a way of firms gained advantage over its rivals. Competitive Advantage introduces a whole new way of understanding what a firm does. Competitive Advantage takes strategy from broad vision to an internally consistent configuration of activities. Its powerful framework provides the tools to understand the drivers of cost and a companys relative cost position. Competitive Advantage also provides for the first time the tools to strategically segment an industry and rigorously assess the competitive logic of diversification. (Porter, 1998) The design stage determines the way in which a firm intends to differentiate its good or service from rivals. In this stage a firm makes choices to gain a competitive advantage over rivals. (William, 2004) For a single product or narrow group of products, a firms competitive strategy refers to the weighted mix of price, product qualities and features, and service that differentiates its product from those of rivals. (William, 2004) The Competitive Advantage model of Porter learns that competitive strategy is about taking offensive or defensive action to create a defendable position in an industry, in order to cope successfully with competitive forces and generate a superior return on investment. According to Michael Porter, the basis of above-average performance within an industry is sustainable competitive advantage. There are 2 basics types of CA: Cost Leadership (low cost) and Differentiation. The Delta Model contains the following elements: Strategic Triangle: used for defining strategic positions that reflect fundamentally new sources of profitability (three strategic options: best product, customer solutions, and system lock-in), Aligning these strategic options with a firms activities and provides congruency between strategic direction and execution (three fundamental processes are always present and are the repository of key strategic tasks: operational effectiveness, customer targeting, and innovation), and Adaptive processes: core processes of the company must be aligned to the chosen strategy in order to make progress against the strategic agenda and avoid a commodity-like outcome. 2.1 The Trends (Customer Focused) E-trading and online customer services are becoming the key differentiators in every industry. The banking industry in the midst of a shift assisted and backed by the rapid technological advancement, internet and globalization. The transition is not an incremental one through which organizations, processes, and technologies evolve in linear fashion into more advanced, but still familiar models which is distinct from the earlier industry change. Industry observers anticipate that this transition will be much more radical and constitute a complete metamorphosis of bankings entire business model, realigning everything from its strategic business orientation to its technology architecture to its value proposition to its customers. (Balthasar, 2010) 2009 is a significant year forcing many private banking experts to remember. Privet funds failed to generate revenue as clients withdrew assets from private banks. The global financial crisis has fundamentally changed the investment pattern of the High Net Worth Investors and their wealth management business itself. Growing Market ‘Many â€Å"new money† acquire their wealth through IPO. Brazil and China accounted for two-thirds of global capital raised in Q2 2009 (Ernst Young, 2009) showing that there is a growing demand for private banking and wealth management service in the region as the economy is rapidly growing. Chinas growth will outstrip US which is a good news for private banks who have a strong APAC presence, wealth management professionals should understand that the Chinese market is not easy to penetrate. First of all, client advisors need to be fluent in Mandarin and have local connections. Secondly, guanxi (relationships) still plays an extremely important role in the modern Chinese business community, private bankers without access to key relationship brokers as references will find it very difficult to convince Chinese HNWIs to open accounts. Private banks that hire locals will have a definite advantage over expats trying to cover Chinese clients. (Warren Buffet, 2009) Responsible lending Affordability assessment approaches vary across the industry. Responsible lending decisions require checks to be made concerning income and outgoings (typically using a combination of income multiples and affordability models) when assessing ability to repay now and into the future. Also the type of lending undertaken and the type of borrower (for example, applicants with impaired or low credit ratings) may require more detailed assessments to be carried out. Other (unregulated) lending Mortgage lending is only part of the affordability picture. Under the auspices of Treating Customers Fairly (TCF), affordability assessments are equally relevant to other borrowing, including personal loans and credit cards, and a number of lenders are looking at how their affordability assessment processes may need to be strengthened for these types of credit. In an effort to strengthen existing rules, new Banking Code guidance concerning assessing affordability in relation to unsecured loans (overdrafts and other borrowing) was issued by the Banking Code Standards Board in April 2006. Any assessment should now include at least two of the following: Income and financial commitments Repayment history Credit reference agency information and past repayment history Credit scoring. It is also worth noting that the Office of Fair Tradings recent guidance (‘the OFT Guidance) reinforces the need for firms to have regard to its earlier guidance on non-status lending and confirms its intention to consider further specific guidance with regard to irresponsible lending and what this may mean in different market sectors and circumstances. Responding to the concerns The FSA has indicated that as part of its retail agenda it will continue to focus on quality of advice processes in the mortgage market. In responding to these concerns, firms will wish to consider how the results of the FSAs findings impact each of their lending businesses: How extensive is the affordability process; does the advice process include an assessment of income and identifiable expenditure; anticipated changes in personal circumstances (income/expenditure composition); impact of interest rate changes and possible future increases in interest rates? How can the consumer deal with mortgages extending into retirement? What steps are taken to ensure that underwriting processes (including income multiples and affordability models) reflect the different characteristics and risk profiles of customers in different market sectors (for example, sub-prime; non-conforming)? Is the recent assessment carried out to identify the affordability (including affordability decisioning models) to meet the regulatory as well as commercial drivers impacting the business? What steps are taken concerning the assessment of the customers ability to repay where ‘enhanced income multiples are used (and where the firm may have insufficient, or outdated, data to measure the potential impact/risks of default)? What MI does the consumer have to facilitate the identification of affordability issues on a timely basis (for example, the performance of loans where ‘enhanced multiples have been applied; at the end of any discount period; the level of arrears and repossessions; lending introduced by intermediaries)? Even for long-established product offerings, it is clear that nothing stays still. Aside from regulation by the FSA, the market still needs to respond to the challenges of competition investigation into the PPI market. Household Leverage: In the years leading up to the crisis, a combination of factors, including low interest rates, lax lending standards, a proliferation of exotic mortgage products, and the growth of a global market for securitized loans fueled a rapid increase in household borrowing. (Shedlock, 2010) ‘The recent financial crisis contributed to the longest and most severe economic contraction since the Great Depression. The rapid expansion in the use of borrowed money, or leverage, by households in recent years, is one factor that may help account for the virulence of the downturn. (Shedlock, 2010) ‘The common patterns observed across countries suggest that, the unwinding of excess household leverage via increased saving or increased default rates could be a significant drag on consumption and bank lending going forward, possibly muting the vigor of the economic recovery. (Shedlock, 2010) 2.2 Changing Nature of Consumer Behaviour (Higher Expectation) ‘Customers take control. Customers will be smart, informed and savvy users of financial services. They will only be interested in service providers that can meet their very specific individual needs. (CMA Management, 2006) Global banking leader for the Institute for Business Value, each bank must decide on a strategy that fits its customers needs. Banks will need special strategies to cater to a far more discerningand controllingcustomer. Innovative approaches to business design, customer service, workforce management and IT will be critical to banks future success. (Sunny Banerjea, 2009) Banking customers will demand more advocacy, personal security and control in their banking relationships Banks will source products and services from many specialized and best-in-class service providers, including independents and other banks providing white-label products and services. Innovation in products, processes, relationships and business models will be the primary path to sustainable growth. Furthermore, the modern banking industry has brought greater business diversification. Some banks in the industrialized world are entering into investments, underwriting of securities, portfolio management and the insurance businesses. Taken together, these changes have made banks an even more important entity in the global business community. 2.3 Globalization (Intense Competition) ‘By 2015, we will live in an intensely customer-centric market that is dominated by global mega banks and densely populated by specialist financial services providers. Fierce competition, global regulation and technology will reshape bank and non-bank structures. (Rusty Wiley, 2009) Banking is moving incrementally but unmistakably away from a model based on products, transactions, touch points, and internal departments toward one based on customers, processes, integrated experiences, and the enterprise-wide value of information. The new strategic centre is not an institutions asset size, market share, revenue growth, or operating efficiency, but the â€Å"customer experience† the institution provides to consumers. Whether a seismic departure in focus or simply a more pronounced emphasis on an existing strategy, many banks have decided this is their destination. Many countries are now more alert after so many scams including The Bernard Madoff $65 billion Ponzi scheme exposed in 2009. To minimise and control the false trading activities and tax evasions, governments worldwide demand more oversight of banking operations influencing not only the investment banking business but also the private banking side. The account opening process, KYC and offshore banking activities are under tighter scrutiny than ever before. As a direct result, banks have to spend more money on compliance and risk management. (Investment Research, 2010) Banks no longer think in terms of selling products and making transactions, but rather in terms of acquiring, satisfying, and retaining customers. They are realigning their system architectures to recognize, integrate, and monitor business processes that span departmental boundaries and consider customers from a company-wide perspective. The resulting systems provide customers with tools to conduct their own banking business on their own terms, in their own time, and through whatever channel they happen to access. (Balthasar, 2010) This shift in strategic focus has already had a profound impact on the way that bankings role and value to its customers have evolved, leading to the second feature of the industrys transformation, which is that banking is no longer seen as purely a financial transaction, but rather in a broader and more significant way as a financial information business. This distinction may sound like splitting hairs, but the eventual effect on the banking industry will be nothing short of transformative. To better adapt and accommodate this shift successfully, banks will have to recon and upgrade their entire IT infrastructures. The excellent international reputation and the $300 billion private banking assets the region currently manages, the Singaporean government is aggressive in making the country more attractive to private banks and HNWIs worldwide. Singapore officials are planning to amend the Income Tax Act, which is likely to help the country to make Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Developments â€Å"white list†, further establishing itself as Asias private banking stronghold. (Wall Street Arrow: Market Insights, 2009) The competitive pressures that have squeezed the banking industry for the past decade show no sign of letting up, principally due to the banking industrys continuing consolidation. (Balthasar, 2009) Many industry analysts are expecting another round of large bank merger announcements, with the additional element of international banks involved in cross-border mergers. We have seen the beginnings of that trend already in Europe, with the acquisition of Abbey National (U.K.) by Santander (Spain) and the protracted dispute between Dutch bank ABN AMRO and another Spanish bank over two Italian banks. One important ramification of the continued growth of leading banks will be their ability, based on their sheer size and higher efficiencies, to invest in world-class data storage, management, and analytical capabilities, thereby extending their dominance by the development of innovative revenue-generating products and services. The transition to banks as primarily an information source has helped lower the barriers to entry in the financial services industry, opening the banking arena to a host of new, non-bank players. The current alarm among banks and their regulators about Wal-Marts efforts to obtain an industrial loan company (ILC) license in Utah is the most visible manifestation of that trend. 2.4 Technology (Customised Service) Sharply focused technology. The enabler of all this change will be technology that supports rapid, accurate decision making and greater operational flexibility and efficiency. The successful specialists will be those who can track and analyze specific customer needs and speedily meet them with profitable, reliable products. (CMA Management, 2006) The global trend of deregulation has opened up many new businesses to the banking industry. Coupling that with technological developments like internet banking and ATMs, the banking industry is obviously trying its hardest to shed its lackluster image. (Investopedia, 2010) The major force driving banking transformation stems from the increasing commoditization of financial transactions. Banks can no longer distinguish themselves on the basis of product set functionality or operational excellence. Commercially available systems have perfected virtually all the important functions in basic transactions, including payments, deposits, funds transfers, and account reporting. The maturity of technology in these areas has made both functionality and pricing nearly uniform among leading vendors. The sheer volume and scope of regulatory requirements has imposed on banks an unprecedented need to develop transparent systems and processes, along with more effective and reliable means for collecting, storing, and manipulating information. Going forward, banks will need to develop an approach to their IT infrastructure that places a premium on flexibility, adaptability to rapidly changing market circumstances, and the ability to integrate information from multiple sources currently isolated from each other. The competitive landscape has also shrunk considerably. In June 2008, there were 46 lenders offering unsecured personal loans, down from 58 in June 2007, however, by June 2009 this number had dropped further to just 37. The real value proposition that banks offer now is in the information they can provide about financial services and transactions, from a perspective of accessibility, speed, convenience, granularity, analysis, and so forth. In other words, the important question to ask banks now is â€Å"how quickly, accurately, deeply, efficiently, transparently, and finitely can they capture, parse, store, identify, access, retrieve, sort, match, analyze, aggregate, present, share, distribute, and protect data?† Therefore, leading banks are basing new technology strategies on transforming and enhancing their command of information. Although they already sit atop vast amounts of data about their customers, banks in many respects are unable to identify and/or retrieve it with any degree of precision. With bankings future growth and profitability dependent on the ability to aggregate information across systems and reorient it by customer instead of product, technology spending decisions will he nceforth be guided by how well a proposed solution furthers a banks command of information. (Balthasar, 2009) Data management The command of information should be incorporated it into technology development by the vendors allowing them to capture (automatically as much as possible) descriptive and associative information about customers, transactions, and workflow circumstances as distinct data fields; to identify, access, associate, aggregate, sort, and display data from disparate sources; to exchange, transfer, compound, and deconstruct data freely across system boundaries; to normalize, integrate, and analyze that data for a specific purpose and for a specifically designated market segment; to drill down and parse data into ever more discrete units that can be segregated and analyzed; and to manage all of the above in near-real time through centralized database management and automated business processes with rules-based workflow and exception management. Initiatives and architectures not built on a sophisticated data management core will provide only limited benefit, since sooner or later they will be unable to integrate fully into

Skunk Hour Essay -- essays research papers

Frustration’s Armored Aroma Skunk Hour by Robert Lowell and The Armadillo by Elizabeth Bishop are two closely related poems. Both share the theme of an animal carrying with it natural defenses, and the image of an isolated spectator. However, there is one important contrast between these poems: The Armadillo portrays a creature who cannot comprehend the events destroying the life about it, whereas the speaker in Skunk Hour understands, possibly too well, the events affecting its life. By using the skunk as a descriptive element for his character, Robert Lowell increases the distance between the character and the brief glimpse of society portrayed in the poem. Skunks, generally, are avoided by everyone because of their reputation for spraying unwelcome visitors with a noxious vapor. Here, the reason for Robert Lowell’s choice in animals becomes obvious. Utilizing such an isolated animal to parallel the thoughts of the speaker, Lowell considerably strengthens the distance between the speaker of the poem and the "love-cars" (Lowell 11) being watched. Even if the occupants of those cars knew they were being observed, chances are they would not associate themselves with the speaker. In addition, Robert Lowell portrays his character as something akin to a stalker, illustrated in the following excerpt. One dark night, my Tudor Ford climbed the hill’s skull; I watched for love-cars. ...

Persuasive Paper Essay

Toilet paper is a material item that most people use. This paper has a big impact on our society. Not many people pay attention to how they put their paper on they just sort of throw it all together in a matter of seconds. One day I noticed that my paper was harder to get than normal, then I noticed that the beginning of the paper was hanging from the back of the roll instead of laying on it or hanging over the front. This startled me, I did not realize until then that you can put your toilet paper either the front or the back. I said to myself â€Å"This can not be, my paper is all wrong it should not be this way! (I made gestures).† So I have come to decide that having your toilet paper is better in the front of the roll compared to the back. When most people go to sit down on their toilet they expect their paper to be there. Well what if your paper was there and a good full amount was present but when you go to reach for it, it seems a little bit farther away, well this is because your paper may have been placed wrong. Lets think about this in a conservative way. If you have a small child then you will know what I mean, Little kids like to play with toilet paper, some even like to eat it! Well if you have your paper in the front it will make it harder for the child to pull more of the roll from its original state, as opposed to if you had your paper in the back, the kid could pull it so hard, tons of it will roll because of the downward motion, and this may cause the tug to be to powerful and may rip the toilet paper, Then you would not be able to roll the paper back to its original rolling position. Having the paper in the front is also very convenient for easier toilet paper rolling. If the paper was in the back, you have to reach under or around the roll to get your paper, and then pull it in a downward motion, If you pull it straight towards you, it is liable to break! I have asked around to find if anyone likes there paper in the back position, I found out some people do! I asked those people why on earth they could like the paper in the back. They said: † Because if you pull it from the back, you can have a faster speed of rolling paper† I replied, â€Å"But a lot of  the time the paper breaks and then you have bits and pieces† he said, † Bits and pieces are not always bad. You can just add them to your handful of toilet paper that you’re going to use.† I just shook my head nicely and thought to myself of an old saying an old man said to me once: † It’s quality not quantity.† In conclusion, I have decided after hearing both sides that having you paper in front is indeed better than in the back. So the next time you are putting your roll of toilet paper on, you just remember that if you have a kid, think about your toilet paper placement. Think about your arm and hand energy when you go to grab a few sheets. Think about the quality of your handful and not the quantity!

How does the novel Of Mice And Men reflect life in the 1930s Essay

Question-‘How does the novel Of Mice And Men reflect life in the 1930s’ John Steinbeck was born in 1902 in Salinas, California. His mother was a teacher and the reason why he learned to love books and his father was a county treasurer. He attended his local school and in the holidays worked on farms and ranches, this is the reason he is able to give such an insight to how life was there. After school he went to Stanford university studying marine biology but did not get a degree. He then went to New York for a short time were he worked as a reporter for the American Newspaper, before going back to California to concentrate on is writing. He wrote many books including Sea of Cortez, Of Mice An Men and A Russian Journal Before winning a noble Prize for Literature in 1962. The novel I am doing this essay on I ‘Of Mice And Men’ by John Steinbeck, set in California. The book was written In 1936 and also based in this period. This is in the middle of the great depression, which started in 1930 when firms and 2298 banks went bust and losing everybodies savings and finished at the beginning of the second world war. During the depression millions of people were left wandering around looking for jobs and surviving any way they could. All this came just after the boom of the 1920s where it was easy to find work and everybody was paid very well. In the 30s Steinbeck was also one of the 13million people without a proper job, this is because his writing alone would not be able to support him. This is similar to page 11 in the book where Lennie and George are looking for jobs, they also didn’t have much money so they are unable so buy the simplest things such as ketchup for their baked beans. Steinbeck found a job and found out how hard the work is on a ranch, he uses is experiences on Lennie and George as they also found a job a ranch in California and had to work very hard, just to get there $50’s a month. The reason why Lennie and George kept working is because of their dream. The Dream was to own a small farm in the country side with animals and crops, they have this dream because it is the only thing they have to look forward to in life, and as they as they money to achieve the dream it gives them a reason to work. Because of the depression all the other plans have been ruined as there is not even enough money to buy food, they need a dream to keep them going. George and Lennie are the main characters in the story, Lennie is a very big strong man but when he was young he kicked in the head by a horse. This caused him brain damage and he now is unable to make his own decisions and generally acts like a small child, this story was one told by George so people didn’t think Lennie was born this way. He is described by George as a ‘big dumb bastard who is no good for himself’. Even though George says this sometimes he is still always there for him. He had been looking after Lennie nearly all his life and always tries to help him. George is the person who keeps control of what they do. He takes control of everything from getting them both jobs to what they eat. He even speaks for Lennie, like when they arrive at the ranch they have to go and speak to the owner, before they go in George even tells Lennie not to speak, and any questions that Lennie does get asked George answers for him. Crooks is the only black man working on the ranch. He is treated with the least respect and is made to sleep on his own in a little shed next to a dung pile. He knows where he stands, which is at the bottom. He is shown no respect except for his job as he is very good at it and when he is playing horse shoe as he is also very good at that. At the time the book was written in the 1930s in the height of the Klu Klux Klan (kkk) who wanted total segregation and destruction of other races. They referred to blacks as niggers and would hang them for anything and sometimes nothing. Crooks knew to stay out of the way and to be careful. He is called crooks because of his crooked back, he has this disability because he was kicked in the back by a horse. When Lennie walks into Crooks’ bunkhouse, he tries to get rid off him but when he can’t he takes advantage of his slowness. He tries to speak to Lennie and treat him like the other white men treat Crooks. He to get Lennie to understand what life is like for him by saying suppose George didn’t ever come back from town, because then he would be on his own like Crooks. But Lennie didn’t her the suppose at the beginning of the sentence and got very angry towards Crooks and got very worried. Out of life Crooks wanted to be treated equally and be given the same rights, like when he used to play with the white children when he was a child before he knew it was wrong. He wanted to be a lawyer, it was his dream but he couldn’t because he was black. He wanted to be able to live in normal accommodation like the other workers instead he lived in a small room the connected to the harness room next to a dung pile. In his room he had many possessions, he more than he would be able to carry, this shows he had good job security. Many of his possessions were books, he had lots because he had collected them but mainly because he is extremely clever and liked to read. Crooks is very lonely in the book, and it probably related to real life as well. He was very lonely because he had no friends because the whites weren’t allowed to speak to him a most of the blacks had move away from the southern states, and he also did not have any family in California. Overall I think Crooks’ character reflects life in 30’s very well. Like in life he is separated from the whites and is given no respect and looked down upon. Curley’s wife is also an icon for life in the 30’s. She does not have a name and does not work. In the book she is put across as less important than the men, and a lot of time she is told what to do by the men. Her character is vain and also gets angry and defensive very quickly. She also is very sarcastic and doesn’t seem to be very bright. She like crooks is separated, she is separated from other women and doesn’t seem to be very bright. She like Crooks is separated, she is separated from other women. Not once in the book does she leave to see any friends or leave the ranch at all. Also like Crooks she can’t fulfil her wishes or dreams. Crooks wants to be lawyer but can’t, because he’s black and Curley’s wife wants to be able to go to Hollywood and be an actress. She has been denied the opportunity by being forced to stay on the ranch. There are so important because it gives them something to look forward to in life, it keeps them going. In the novel Curleys wife represents how women were not as important as men. She comes across as very silly, not very bright and the other men think that she could get someone in serious trouble. She has also not been given a name in the book, she is always referred to as Curleys wife, this is to show that she is insignificant and not as important as the men. She is the only women on the ranch and has no job, her only role is being a house wife. On the ranch all the men want to stay away from her because they think she will get them into trouble. Therefore She has nobody to talk to or tell about her dream to be a big time movie star. But when Lennie turns up she realises that he is to slow and nice not to listen or to walk away if she talked to him. So when she realises this she confides in him and tells everything she hasn’t told any one else. Although she is very unhappy with Curley and says that he is bad man, she stays with him. This could because she knows one day he will get the ranch and have quite a lot of money compared to everyone else. She knows that if she sticks with him she will have a secure future. However one of the reasons why the men stay away from her is because she is a flirt and could get them into trouble. For example when Lennie and George first started working she came over to George and flirted with him. She would have to be careful because if she did get caught with another man she could be kicked out, and then would not have such a secure future. The men mainly see women as people they tell what to do and sleep with. They don’t treat any women with respect except for Susi who runs the brothel in town, they tend to teat her with some respect as she shows them a good time, is nice and is honest. The men go town to go to the brothel to sleep with women at the end of each month when they get their pay. On page 55 they talk about Susi’s place saying things like’ Susi’s a laugh’, ‘Theres no water in her whisky’ implying that she is honest. They generally talk about what a nice place it is and how nice Susi is. From this you can tell that she is the only women they give any respect. Although Curley never really showed his wife any respect or showed he loved her. When Lennie killed her he goes cold and gets very mad and upset. He immediately gets his gun and organises two teams to find Lennie and shoot him. This shows that he did love her even though he didn’t treat her very well. Another character is Slim, he tends to keep to himself and is very calm and quiet. Although he is quiet he has natural authority on the ranch, all the other men listen to him and take his advice. Even Curley listens and is scared of him, for example when Curley came into the bunkhouse looking for a fight Slim just stood up and Curley backed down. Also when Lennie Crushed Curley’s hand Slim tells him to say that he hurt his hand in a machine. Curley is the boss’ son, he has a big ego and is very aggressive and quick tempered. He tries to pick fights with every one possibly because he wants control. The reason why he has a big ego and is quick to start a fight is because he is a good boxer, he even got a golden glove trophy for winning a tournament. Because his father had quite a lot of money compared to other people in the 1930’s and the fact that he is white makes him feel superior and more important than any one else. The last character is Candy, the swamper. His job on the ranch is to go around and sweep up. The reason he does this job is because he is very old and has only got one hand, after losing his other in an accident with a machine. His best friend is his dog, which he has had all his life. However the other workers don’t dog like the dog and say ‘it’s no good for it’s self and smells. It would be better to put it down. Candy is also very keep to get in with George and Lennie’s dream as he is getting old and afraid the boss will just get rid of him when he is no good. Lennie and George among the other millions of people move around from job to job because when the job is done there is nothing else to do in this place. However Lennie and George tend to travel round more than others do because Lennie is always getting them in trouble. For example when they were in Weed digging the cesspit they had to leave in a hurry because Lennie had been accused of rape. Although what really happened was (from the book) ‘Lennie saw a girl wearing pretty red dress which he liked the look of. And because he liked the look of it he grabbed it.’ – ‘the girl started to panic and ran out to a field where lots of men were walking screaming rape.’ George talking in the bunk house. ‘Soon the men were chasing Lennie and George across fields and they ended up hiding in an irrigation ditch. None of the characters in the story talk much of their families except Lennie and George who briefly mention Lennie’s aunt Clara. I think this is significant because many of the mean had to leave their families to find work and if they do think of them they will begin to miss them which could effect their work, which could cause them to lose their job. The workers accommodation is very poor. All they have is a very small bed and a shelf. When George first went to his bed he found a bar of lice killer. All the workers get $50’s a month, most of the men spend the majority of their money a the cat house in town where they pay for sex and alcohol. The boss looks down to the men as just workers, he doesn’t interact with the men. The workers see the boss as very quick tempered but generally okay. On page 21 George asks Candy about the boss, he says ‘what kind of a guy is the boss.’ Candy replies ‘well, he’s a pretty nice fellow. Gets pretty mad sometimes but nice.’ All the men dress in denim jeans and jacket. They wear these because they are very hard wearing and lasts along time. The way they dress reflects on how they are living. They are wearing tough clothes which relates to the fact they are sleeping rough and in they jobs they are having to do a lot of hard labour. Also they last for a long time because they don’t have the money to buy more. Curley and his father have more than one set of clothes, and even suit but compared to every one else including Lennie and George this is a lot as they only have one set of clothes, all denim so they will last a long time. None of the men have many possessions, they only have what they can carry as they have no job security so if they get to much Stuff and get fired they would have to leave it behind. The only person who has a lot of possessions is Crooks, he has lots of books magazines and even a shotgun, this is because he is likely to keep his job because he is the best. None of the men have luxury items as none of them can afford any, this is because of the depression as there is no extra money. Lennie and George among all the men have a dream for better things. The dream is for them to own their own piece of land with their own animals to look after. To Lennie hearing the dream is like a small child hearing it’s favourite story. He knows how it goes but wants to hear it. He’s always asking George (like on page 16) to tell him the dream and how he is going to tend the rabbits. It seems that George doesn’t really think the dream will happen, that its just something to keep them going but when Candy offers to put all his money into it he really begins to believe it can happen. But when Lennie goes into Crooks’ room and tells him the dream Crooks’ reaction is ‘you nuts’ as he knows there is a very small chance of it happening. When Curleys wife enters she says ‘ I seen too many guys sayin they are gonna get their own piece of land and not one of em has’. I think the story reflects life in the 30’s brilliantly, all the characters show how life is, from Crooks showing how life was for blacks to Curley’s wife showing how it was for women. In a way women are important in the story because they represent how they were treated as less important than men and there role in the 1930’s. But in another way not thought as important characters in the novel because they are women and in this time the men didn’t think they were as important as them. I think the story represents what life was really like for women in the 1930’s correctly. In the story Crooks, Candy and his dog represent a world of intolerance quite well. In the book Crooks is a very useful person as he is very good at his job but is not tolerated by the other workers because he is black, compared to Candy who is old and not really any use to any one as all he can to is sweep the floor, but he is tolerated. This maybe because he is white, also because he is a human. When the other workers decide that Candy’s old dog is no good for it’s self, they take it out side and shoot it because it is only a dog. Candy says’ They wouldn’t shoot me when I’m no good’, suggesting that white humans are tolerated more than dogs or black people. The workers respect each other and are polite to each other but at the same time it’s every man for him self as they cannot rely on anyone else to help them to much. The workers know its every man for himself as they no if they want anything such as to follow their dream they have to work for it themselves and not hope that other people will help them. Even though they know they are on their own all the workers are friends and watch out for each other on the ranch. Most of the men don’t mind Lennie as they no he means well and is no trouble but Curley shows a more realistic view of him, which would better represent the 1930’s better. Curley shows a lot of intolerance towards Lennie as he is seen as not normal, he shows this intolerance by continuously threatening him and in the end starting a fight with him. From looking over my work I believe the characters in the novel ‘Of Mice And Men’ show that they were living in the 1930’s very well. Their belongings jobs and actions all show that they were living in this period. I also believe the character of Crooks, Curleys wife and the boss all show how different people were treated at this time.