Dance Elements Essay Example for Free

Dance Elements Essay Literal meaning of the word kathak is related to katha, the art of story-telling, â€Å"Katha Kahe So Kathaka Kahave†, which means â€Å"one who tells a story is a story-teller†. According to M. Monier Williams, Katha denotes conversation, story, speech, tale or fable. Katha also means to ‘ sing in praise’, ‘to say or inform something’. Thus, kathakars were originally a caste of story-tellers who were attached to temples in certain parts of Northern India. These kathakars used to go around the countryside narrating the stories of the Epics and other Legends. The modes employed were poetry, music and dance. All these three arts were closely inter-linked. The aim of kathaks was to educate the people in the knowledge of Gods and Mythological Legends. Historically kathak dates back to the Vedic period which are full of descriptions and stories which give us an insight into the mind of those who wrote or composed jthem. Kathak dance is evolved from religious and mythological concepts. In Ramayana period, we can see many glimpses of music and dance. The Ramayana tells the story of an ideal heroic prince Rama of Ayodhya and his devoted wife Sita. This ancient tale has been treasured and retold for countless generation in every Hindu house; they worshipped Rama as the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. In Ramayana we find a mention of recitors who were specialised in story-telling. Lava and Kusha, the two brave sons of Rama rendered Ramayana in verses composed by Sage Valmiki. While reciting the stories, they also added the element of acting-Abhinaya. From that time nomadic bards who narrated the Ramayana were known as ‘Kushilavas’. As a matter of fact, the term kushilavas has been associated with dancers and actors. Likewise, many mythological stories were depicted through gestures, postures and abhinaya. The another story of Ramayana which tells us that how Ravana, the king of Lanka worshipped Lord Shiva with song and dance. Also the story of Ravana assaulting Rambha, one of the main Apsaras. According to Kapila Vatsyayan, in Ramayana, the Apsaras are the most important mythological characters who danced and performed both in heaven and earth. There are various other instances like the stories of the grand act of breaking Shiva’s bow in â€Å"Sita Swayamvar†, the evil plotting of Kaikayee, the Banishment of Rama to a fourteen-year exile, Sita’s kidnapping by Ravana and the war that ensued leading to Rama’s victory and Sita’s rescue. Thus, Ramayana is rich in incident and moral concept. We come across many references to perfomances of dances from the Mahabharata. In this period, worship and adoration of Bramha, Vishnu and Mahesh started with music and dance. Krishna is the ‘Sutradhara’ (around whom the entire Mahabharata developed) and he was an expert dancer. The Mahabharata depicts episodes of Krishna’s life that how he is adopted and raised by a family of cowherds. The stories of his childhood of stealing butter and milkmaids known as â€Å"MakhanChori†. His dance of his youth with Radha and Braj narees is known as â€Å"Rasa Lila†. His spiritual love dance with Gopis or Milkmaids by the bank of Yamuna river in moonlit night is known as â€Å"MahaRaas†. The story of â€Å"Kaliya Daman† which tells us how Krishna defeated the poisonous snake Kaliya and danced on his hoods. The story of â€Å"Govardhan Dharan† which tells us how krishna picked and hold the Govardhan mountain to protect the people of Vrindavan from heavy rain. Another important episode of Mahabharata is known as â€Å"Vastraharan†, in which Krishna saves the honour of the Pandava Queen Draupadi. The story goes that Dushasana, one of the Kaurava brothers attempted to humilate her by disrobing her. Draupadi called out to Krishna to save her and miraculously, as layer after layer of her saree was pulled, the number of sarees went on increasing. This episode is a popular theme in Kathak dance. Mahabharata also depicts the story of the five Pandava brothers who were unjustly deprived of their kingdom by their cousins, the kauravas, and of the great battle of Kurukshetra that established the victory of the Pandavas after much suffering and bloodshed. The Mahabharata also describes Krishna’s role as the Charioteer of Arjuna during the battle of Kurukshetra, and his conversation on the battlefield constitutes the text of the Bhagavad-Gita, the celebrated philosophical work. Thus, it is clear that by the time of Mahabharata, the arts of music and dance developed sufficient content, form, style to be taught in a systematic order. The training also seems to be elaborate with rules and regulations. Natyashastra is an encyclopedic work having 36 chapters and it deals with various topics such as the first 3 chapters deal with the origin of Natya, construction of theatre, Rangapooja, etc. , 4th and 5th chapters deal with the varieties of Dance. The 6th and 7th deal with Rasa and Bhava. From the 8th chapter of the 15th one, the different poses of Dance are being dealt with. The different aspects of Abhinaya are described in 15 to 22 and from 22nd to 28th describe the costumes elaborately. The chapters from 28th to 34 deal with music and musical instruments and the last two deal with the different characters and costumes. Natyashastra also describes the divine character and dance of the Nataraja, the dancing Lord Shiva who is considered the king of actors and dancers and also the supreme Lord of Dance. The moon which he adorns in his head is the symbol complete control of his senses. The serpents wound around his body is the proof of his complete control over vital life forces. His foot raised high over the wicked demon, a symbol of victory over the ego. This divine art form is performed by Shiva and his wife Goddess Parvati. The Dance performed Lord Shiva is known as â€Å"Tandava†, which depicts his violent nature as the destructor of the Universe. The Dance performed by Goddess Parvati is known as â€Å"Lasya†, in which the movements are gentle, graceful, erotic and it is also called the feminine version of Tandava. Therefore, according to Kapila Vatsyayan, Bharata attributes to dancing a divine origin, a literary and religious heritage both in thought and technique and aesthetic secular purpose. It has also been mentioned in Natyashastra, how to interpret the different moods of man accompanied by Bhava, Raga and Tal – all directed to create rasa or emotion in the spectators who are called â€Å"Rasikaas†. From the 7th and 8th century, â€Å"Sangeet† occupied a prominent place in the society. The art of sculptures also made great strides and most of the sculptures depicted various dance poses. Temples were the places of origin whereas the dancers or the priests danced in praise of the Lord enacting various mythological stories. Temples sprang up where the devotees gathered to pray to the Almighty God or hear stories about Him. The Temple connection is well established as can be seen in the art of â€Å"Kathavachakas† who carry on the tradition to this day in the North in the Temple boundaries and in open spaces. With the passage of time, in the medieval period, the Bhakti movement influenced all over India. The vast spiritual empire established by Vaishnavism in the North embraces life in its totality. The fine arts found a fuller expression by the 15th and the 16th centuries A. D. Literature, music, dance, painting and other fine arts flourished with the patronage extended by the temples, priests and devotees. In particular the Rasa Lilas in Braj and the neighbouring areas of Mathura in the North sustained the tradition that centered round Vishnu and his recognization as Krishna. The Bhakti movement inspired a whole new school of poetry, dance and music. Krishna and radha are the presiding deities of Vaishnavism and it was on the basis of Leelas of Krishna that precious and distinctive art heritage of Vaishnavism was built up. Mirabai, Surdas and Tulsidas for e. g. wrote powerful devotional verses on longing and separation, expressing the yearning of the human soul for union with God. They chosen the themes was the love of radha for krishna. Krishna Leela though brought out in high relief by Vaishnavism but it had its origin in the past and it can be traced easily to the periods of Mahabharata and Bhasa. In Braj, the Rasa lila’s developed as a combination of music, dance and narration that was used to enact the Krishna Legends – especially the Radha-Krishna idea and stories of Krishna’s youth with the gopis or milkmaids. Hence, the earliest compositions in kathak were based on the religious and stylised music of North India, notably the Dhrupad, Keertan, Hori, Dhamar, Pad and Bhajan. According to Mohan Khokar, Keertans are similar style to dhrupad, but they may, unlike the latter, also be sung in chorus. Keertan is a spiritual practice belonging to the path of Bhakti (devotion). Keertan more specifically means the chanting of sacred sounds or mantras. The Rasa Lila miracle plays of Braj were formerly staged to the accompaniment of keertan music only. Keertans were meant both for singing and dancing. Whereas Bhajans are strictly devotional songs and are in praise of deities such as Krishna, Shiva, Rama, Ganesha, Durga, etc. The songs are rendered in ragas, but improvised tunes are also freely used. Stories and episodes from scriptures, the teachings of saints and description of Gods have all been the subject of Bhajan. Bhajans of Mirabai, Tulsidas, Surdas, Kabir, the Ashtachhap poets and other composers are a part of kathak repertoire. Some of the Famous Bhajans of Mirabai is the following: â€Å"Baso more nanun mein nandlal, Mor mukut makrakrit kundal, arun tilak diyo bhal, Mohni murat – saavari surat, naina bane bisaal, Adhar sudha – ras murli rajat, ur baijanti maal. Chhudra ghantika kati tat sobhit, nupur sabad rasaal, Mira’ prabhu santan sukhdai, bhagat – bachhal gopal† With the advent of the Mughals, the Hindustani music underwent a drastic change. The stylised music absorbed the Mughal influence in a remarkable manner. The dancers moved from the temple courtyard to the palace dubar and this necessitated changes in presentation as Muslim kings could not enjoy the bhava of Bhakti Rasa. Kathak received encouragement at the hands of Nawabs and Rajas. Whereas formerly it was religious and devotional in mood and temperament, now it turned into a means of entertainment. The forms like Thumri, Dadra, Ghazal evolved and became a part of the Hindustani music. The word â€Å"Thumri† has been derived from a combination of two terms i. e. ‘thumak’ (or the chaal) and ‘rijhana’ (or to please). Thus, together meaning graceful stamping of the foot. Thumri is a verse that has Krishna and Radha or Krishna and Gopi’s as its central theme. It is essentially based on the divine romance portraying both aspects of separation and union. The last Nawab of Oudh, Wajid Ali Shah was an accomplished dancer and musician. He composed thumries in classical style and these were sung by the kathak dancers. His contemporaries and the court musicians like Kadarpiya, Akhtar Piya, Lallan Piya, Sikandar Piya and others contributed to its popularity. Although he was a muslim, he liked the Radha-Krishna themes. He himself presented a dance on the Rasa Lila which he called ‘Rahas’. His famous thumries are the following: â€Å"Babul mora nehar chhuto jaye, Chaar kahar mil, doliya uthave, Apna begana chhuto jaye. † Another Thumri: â€Å"Jab chod chale lucknow nagri, Tab hale ‘ali’ par kya guzri, Mahal mahal mein begum rove, Jab hum guzre duniya guzri. † According to PeterLamarche Manuel, Bindadin Maharaj is regarded as one of the most important figures in the development of Thumri as well as Kathak. The kathak Masters Bindadin and his brother Kalka Prasad composed Thumries that were suitable for kathak dancing. Some of the famous Thumri of Bindadin Maharaj is the following: â€Å"Mohe chhedo na, nand ki suno challa, Badi der bhai, ghar jane de mohe.

Impacts of Mergers Acquisitions on Shareholder Wealth

Impacts of Mergers Acquisitions on Shareholder Wealth This dissertation attempts to investigate, the impact of Mergers Acquisition (MA) on shareholder wealth in the European banking industry from 2003-2007 and explains in depth detail of the literature reviewed by the author to provide the basis of the successful achievement of the project. MA has been a popular research topic in finance with broad literature exists on MA. For this review to be achievable, a broad search for information was undertaken by means of the internet and library. The research question will examine the wealth effects (abnormal returns) of MA involving European banks using `event study` methodology over the period of 2003-2007 in both the announcement period and long run post acquisition period. In other words, can MA improves or destroy shareholder wealth of the targets, bidders and combined firms. 1.2 Introduction The decade of 1990 saw the biggest increase in European MA activity. Merger Acquisitions (MA) have been a significant phenomenon in the Europe. and the world economy which symbolizes one of the most important strategic decisions made by managers and shareholders of the engaged firm. Sudarsanam (2003,para1,p.1) argues shareholders and managers may be the most important stakeholders in MA but other groups such as workers, competitors, lenders, customers all have a collective interest in this activity. MA may be undertaken in order to replace an inefficient management, but sometimes two businesses may be more valuable together than apart. Motivation behind the mergers is to maximise the shareholders wealth. However, according to Jensen and Ruback (1983) and Sirower and O`byrne (1998), in almost two third of cases, mergers produce wealth gains for target shareholders and more or less zero gains to acquirers. Various studies have found that, usually the announcement of bank mergers neither create nor destroy shareholders value Pilloff and Santomero (1998). Also, some studies indicates that the announcement of certain types of bank mergers do create value, if that merger reduce costs. Berger, Demsetz, Strahan (1999) identified five fundamental dynamic factors that motivate corporate takeovers i.e. an increase of globalization, technological progress, financial deregulation, changes in customer demand and the integration of financial markets. Arnold (2005, para2, p.1041), defined mergers as the combining of two business entities under common ownership whereas Bruner (2005) states it as consolidation of two firms that creates a new entity in the eyes of the law. According to Investorwords.com acquisition is a acquiring control of a corporation, called a target, by stock purchase or exchange, either `hostile` or `friendly` which also be called takeover. E.g. in October 2007, Royal bank of Scotland (RBS) merged with Dutch bank ABN Amro to clinch Europes biggest ever banking takeover with 86% of ABN Amros shareholders accepting a 71bn euro (Ft.com). Bruner (2005) argues takeover activities are strategic transactions that could turn out to be an excellent investment of capital and resources. 1.3Merger waves Nowadays, MA is well known fact that comes in waves according to evidence from Bruner (2005), Gorton, Kahl Rosen (2005), Martynova Renneboog (2006). Five individual merger waves were observed in the UK economy in the last century i.e. 1900`s, the 1960`s, the 1970`s, the 1980`s and the 1990`s. (Kastrinaki, Stoneman 2007) Brankman, Garretsen, Van Marrewijk (2008) argues that, in terms of economic importance, the dominant merger wave unpredictable is the positive global outcome, suggesting that MA waves are an economy wide global phenomenon. The wave of bank mergers has been established to explain the diverse theories e.g. the `efficiency hypothesis` expect that mergers improve efficiency and help poor banks to survive as competition becomes increasingly rigorous in the banking industry. Gugler, Mueller, Yurtoglu (2004) finds that merger waves can be implicit if one identify that MA do not boost efficiency and doesnt increase shareholders` wealth but instead sited that MA waves are best come across as the answer of overvalued shares and managerial opinion. 1.4Why do MA occur? In various European countries, mergers have allowed banks to increase efficiency by assisting the coordination of the closing of branches. Banks shareholders and managers need to recognize the potential sources of economic gain emerged from MA. Banks can reduce costs and increase value in different ways e.g. diversification. I.e. if mergers generate cost synergies such as economies of scale, banks can reduce expenses. According to evidence from Berkovitch Narayanan (1993), Sudarsanam, Holl Salami (1996), Hannan Pilloff (2006), Martynova Renneboog (2006), the motives for MA have been categorised into the three main groups i.e. economic motive or synergy, managerial or agency problems and hubris. The actual distribution of merger gains between target and bidder shareholders will depend on their individual negotiating strengths. Therefore, following table shows the impact of mergers on shareholders wealth: Merger Motive Total Gains Target Gains Bidder Gains Synergy + + + Agency problems + Hubris 0 + 1.4.1 Synergy Motive The first key group that accounts for MA is an economic or synergy motive which means that two companies can achieve together which they cant achieve single-handedly. Siems (1996) argued that synergy theory projected that the acquiring bank can efficiently create synergies via economies of scale and scope by reducing costs and eliminating redundancies and duplication. Economies of scale occurs when the average unit cost of production declines as volume increases e.g. banking mergers in the UK of Bank of Scotland and Halifax of 30bn merger in May 2001, to create HBOS fifth major force in UK banking sector. The idea was that the Bank of Scotland was operating in north of the country and Halifax was in south by merging these two banks, were trying to reduce cost of processing banking transactions. Economies of scope occurs when the cost of producing several products in a multi product firm is lower than the cost of producing the same products by individual firms e.g. Banc assurance model, British banking and issuance giant Lloyds TSB acquired Scottish Widows in June 1999 for 7bn. Sudarsanam et al (1996) identified the sources of value creation into three main types i.e. operational synergy, managerial synergy and financial synergy. Operational synergy occurs during the recognition of economies of scale and scope, vertical integration, the elimination of duplicate activities, the transfer of knowledge or skills by the bidders management team and a reduction in agency costs by bringing organization precise assets underneath common ownership (Ravenscraft Scherer 1987, 1989 cited in Martynova Renneboog 2006). Sources of value in vertical mergers includes reducing transaction costs in which combining different stages of the production chain can reduce costs of communication and bargaining i.e. one companys output is other companys input and by putting together will make the business efficient. E.g. Microsoft bid for Yahoo in January 2008, worth $42bn that will create more powerful browser or have a better chance of tackling the internet search leader. Having said that, current trends towards outsourcing suggest that, the benefits from vertical mergers are limited. According to Martynova Renneboog (2006), establishments of operating synergies reduce production distribution costs and yielding an incremental cash flow accruing to the companys post-merger shareholders. Sudarsanam et al (1996) argues managerial synergy could occur if the bidder has a competent managerial team and takes over a target with fewer competent managers. Such takeover is disciplinary and likely to improve the wealth gain for both bidder and target shareholders. Having said that, there is a considerable risk of agency problems where the managers do not operate in the interest of shareholders. Martynova Renneboog (2006) argues that diversifying takeovers are likely to gain from financial synergies in which financial synergies may incorporate improved cash flow stability, cheaper access to capital, an internal capital market as well as contracting efficiencies created by a reduction in managers employment risk. Conglomerate mergers allow risk diversification by spreading the income stream of the holding company over a wide variety of products and markets. Sudarsanam et al (1996) finds that financial synergy materialize from three likely sources i.e. the tax advantage of unused debt, the growth opportunities and financial resources of the emerging companies and the coinsurance of debt of the two companies which result in lower costs of capital. 1.4.2 Agency factor The second main motive for MA is managerial or agency factor. Shareholders are Principals i.e. owners of companys assets and managers are employed as shareholders Agents to manage these assets on their behalf. Managers should make decisions that are consistent with the objective of maximize the shareholder wealth, but managers do not share this objective necessarily. Managers will have their own personal objectives which will be mainly concerned with maximizing their own welfare (Sudarsanam et al 1996). Therefore, managerial decisions in acquisitions may result in agent costs that reduce the total value of the joint firm as they do not maximise but weaken shareholders return. Berger, Demsetz, Strahan (1999) argues that one managerial intention may be empire-building. Executive compensation leads to increase with companys size, so managers may wish to accomplish personal financial gains by engaging in MA, although at least in part the higher observed compensation of the managers of larger institutions rewards greater skill and effort. To protect their firm-specific human capital, some managers may also try to reduce insolvency risk below the level i.e. in shareholders interest possibly by diversifying risk through MA movement. Arnold (2005) observes that the managers may enjoy the thrill of the merger process itself and as a result push for such deals to take place. 1.4.3 Hubris The third and final main motive for MA is Hubris which was specified by Richard Roll in 1986. Arnold (2005, para2, p.1055), define hubris as over weaning self confidence or, less kindly, arrogance. The hubris hypothesis states that the valuation of target by the bidder management is over optimistic and per se the bidding firms management overpays for the target. This perhaps for a number of bases such as decisions makers believing themselves, that the value exists when it does not or that their valuation is correct and that the market is not shimmering the full economic value of the combined firm. These managers may perhaps be overconfident or have misplaced faith in their ability to develop the profit performance of the target firm. Berkovitch Narayanan (1993) argues that the hubris maintains that decision makers in the bidding firms simply pay too much for their targets as a result of mistakes in overestimating the value of the targets. 1.5 Factors influencing shareholder returns Shareholders returns are not just affected by MA announcements, but they are also influenced by bid characteristics e.g. method of payment, cross border MA, friendly vs. hostile bids etc. 1.5.1 Method of payment The method of payment is one of the key variables that must be agreed between the buyer and seller to determine the firms` abnormal returns and overall outcome of the bid. According to Huang and Walkling (1989), The form of payment will influence bidding strategy if it affects the anticipated NPVs of an acquisition. Huang and Walkling found that when method of payment and degree of conflict were taken into account statistically, abnormal returns were no higher in tender offers than in mergers. Payment methods can affect NPVs through interrelations with either acquisition cost or the probability of success or both whereas Dube, Glascock Romero (2007) argues that the different stages of benefit growing to the target and acquiring firms shareholders is attributed to the alternative methods of payments. Arnold (2005, para1, p.1059) states that cash payment has been the most popular and most valued method of payment which offers higher return than equity. For example, bidding firm is expected to carry out stock financed merger if the management of bidding firm has better-quality inside information that the existing assets of the firm are overvalued. However, if the bidder firm has confidential information about the target company and trusts it to be undervalued, then it probably offer cash financed merger. Therefore, merger financed with stocks are a negative signal because the use of stocks as a method of payment is more likely to occur when the stock is overvalued, while the use of cash is taken as the firm being overvalued. Alternatively, if target shareholders consider that their bank is overvalued, they will prefer to receive cash. This theory is supported by empirical literature and it demonstrates that at the time of the bid announcement acquirers who propose cash, tend to practice higher abnormal returns than those who offer stock financed merger. The advantage of cash is that the acquirer shareholders hold the same level of control over their company because their proportion of ownership has not been diluted by giving target shareholders stock options in the merged company. Therefore, the returns to the shareholders of a bidding firm will be higher in cash financed merger than the stock. Brealey, Myers Marcus (2004, para1, p.599) states if cash is offered, the cost of the merger is not affected by the size of the merger gains. And if stock is offered, the cost depends on the gains because the gains show up in the post merger share price, and these shares are used to pay for the acquired firm. 1.5.2 Cross border MA The combination of worldwide financial markets has been going together with, increases in the number and tiny proportion of firms that operate in the global market and the globalization process has been to a rational extent encouraged by cross border MA. According to Brankman, Garretsen, Van Marrewijk (2005, 2008) cross border MA are the main medium for foreign direct investment. MA provides fundamental but also limited understanding of this form of takeover, as cross-border MA are most likely related to economy-wide shocks such as economic integration, changes in the legal and regulatory environment or likely asymmetric business cycles. Based on past empirical evidence, though the majority of the domestic MA create significant wealth gains for the targets and negative or zero returns for bidders, cross border MA could have different impact on related firms. Kang (1993) stated that cross border MA are expected to create more wealth than domestic ones because of existence of market imperfections which leads to guide multinational firms (MNC) having a competitive advantage over local firms. Foreign banks have to act in accordance with with both regulations at home and abroad; domestic credit establishments have cost advantages, since fulfilling two diverse sets of regulation enforce additional costs on foreign banks. Also, different regulations reduce the amount of related fixed costs. This decreases the possibility for banks to collect benefits from economies of scale and scope. Economies of scale propose that bank is able to reduce its costs by growing the volume of output of products and services it already produces. As a result of developing into new country, a bank increases its potential client base and benefits from economies of scale. According to economies of scope, banks that diversify activities could reduce costs by providing more services. 1.5.3 Friendly vs. hostile bids Analysis regarding the impact of hostile takeovers has been arguable, varying from the benefits of market discipline for maximizing efficient utilization of resources to the damage of market shortsightedness on the economy, on the society and on value built over years. Dube, Glascock Romero (2007) argues such debates can impact financial marketsand can be expected to expand as developing markets open up to foreign corporations and as economic power is redistributed amongst countries. Hostile takeovers occur, when the management of a firm resists the takeover attempt by bidders. Lambrecht and Myers (2007) state that in some cases a potentially hostile acquirer could be better off negotiating with the target management for a merger and that such a situation reduces the power of the target shareholder to extract value from the bidder. Hostile acquisitions also involve swifter and more drastic changes in target. In both friendly and hostile acquisitions, overpayment can arise due to age ncy reflection of managerial objective maximization by the acquirer management. Goergen and Renneboog (2003) analyzed the market reactions to the different types of takeovers i.e. friendly, hostile and bids with multiple bidders. They found that hostile bids created the largest abnormal returns for the target i.e. 13% on the announcement day. When a hostile bid is made, the share price of the target straight away reflects the expectation that opposition to the bid will guide to upward revisions of the offer price. Various empirical studies have found that the returns to bidders in hostile takeovers are negative; resulting in low possibility of success of a hostile bid. 1.6 Impact of MA on shareholders Almost all of the studies of MA in banking industry are based on US data. As we know, one of the main objectives of mergers is to maximise the shareholders value by the means of increase in dividends and increase in share prices, so the shareholders can enjoy the capital gains. The two most important methods which can be used to assess the impact of MA were explained by Firth in 1980. In the first method, accounting information is used to determine the firms` financial performance profitability. The second method believes in efficient market which can be used in share price movements to estimate the economic impact of the event. The second method, direct measures any increase or reduction in shareholders wealth but also experience from the reality that no market is really efficient which results to mislead conclusions due to movement in share price. In this project, author chose the second method i.e. an event study in which the focal point will be on three different sets e.g. the target, the bidder and the impact of MA on combined firm in the long run. Various empirical studies on MA have concentrated on establishing stock market reaction around the announcement of a deal and whether a merger creates value for the shareholders of target and bidding firm. Delong (2001) examined 56 banks between 1991 and 1995, for focusing mergers that create positive abnormal returns whereas diversifying mergers produce negative abnormal returns. DeLong (2001) has point out that upon announcement the market responds positively to mergers that focus both on the activities and geography, which is consistent with Siems (1996). Delong finds that the cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) of target firm has been increased to 14.8% after merger and the bidding firm loose a significant 2.2%, whereas the combined firm neither created nor destroyed the shareholders value. The result also shows that the long term performance is improved when mergers involve inefficient bidders, payment not just made by cash and earnings are not diversified. Cybo ottone and Murgia (2000) analysed 54 largest MA deals with CARs at +3,41% between 1988 and 1997 on the European banking sector in 14 European markets. They have found that at the time of announcement, there was a positive and an important increase in the market value of the banks engaged in these deals. They have found positive abnormal returns for both buyers and the sellers using the general market index in the short period of eleven days, but found negative market reaction to acquiring bank. In other words, European bank mergers generate value for the combined firms including the target and the bidders do not lose. Various studies have shown that in Europe and the USA, target shareholders earn positive abnormal returns from mergers. Cyboottone and Murgia (2000) stated that bidding firm shareholders earn positive abnormal returns in European studies whereas in USA studies bidding firm shareholders earn negative abnormal returns from the mergers. Shareholders of target European banks achieve more than the bidding bank shareholders, however, the difference is very tiny indeed. So in other words, we can say that Cyboottone and Murgia (2000) results are not consistent with the USA banking literature which shows that no value creation effects are usually found. Martynova and Renneboog (2006) examined the short term wealth effects of 2,419 European MA announcements between 1993 and 2001 in twenty eight European countries. They found that UK target created higher returns (9%) and UK bidders experienced lower wealth losses (0.5%) in comparison to the total European average result. They also identified the share price reaction of bidding firms; on a hostile merger i.e. it generated a negative abnormal return of -0.4%, on the other hand, a friendly acquisition created a positive abnormal return of 0.8%. Therefore, Martynova and Renneboog (2006) have concluded that MA do create value for the bidding and the target shareholders in which target shareholders enjoy majority of gains as they collect large premiums. Beitel (2001) look at 98 large MA of European banks between 1985 and 2000 using the event study in which he found out, the shareholders of the target firm enjoy positive cumulative abnormal returns (CAR), whereas the shareholders of the bidding firm doesnt earn any CARs. However, the combined analysis of bidding and target European bank merger do create the shareholders value significantly. They also notice a change in the results after 1998 that European bidding banks in large deals experienced negative CARs and especially cross border mergers of European banks appeared to have destroyed shareholders value. Table 1: Summary of bank mergers using event studies of previous Abnormal Returns to shareholders MA studies Sample period Sample size Event Window Target CARs (%) Bidder CARs (%) Antoniou, Arbour Zhao (2006) 1985-2004 396 -2 to +2 17.37 -3.32 Cybo-ottone Murgia (2000) 1988-1997 54 -10 to 0 16.1 Not significant DeLong (2001) 1988-1995 280 -10 to 1 16.61 -1.68 Sudarasanam, Holl Salami (1996) 1980-1990 429 -20to+40 days 29 -4 Becher (2000) 1980-1997 553 -30 to +5 22.64 -0.1 Siems (1996) 1995 19 -1 to +1 13 -2 Houston Ryngaert (1997) 1985-1991 184 -2 to +2 20.40 -2.40 Ismail and Davidson (2005) studied 102 merger announcements in European banking industry between 1987 and 1999. They found positive abnormal returns for targets and the return to bidders differs across the deal type, also the merger deals earn higher returns than acquisition deals. They reported that the high competition in the market and reduction in the profitability in the banking industry in Europe is extending a depressing picture of performance of the future. They also reported low positive abnormal returns to target shareholders compared to other findings in the banking industry in Europe. The reason behind is that the bidder not ready to pay higher premiums in a competitive environment in which level of profits are decreasing. Ismail and Davidson (2005) pointed out that if equity is used as a method of payment instead of cash, then merger deals earn lower returns because of the fact is that equity signal to the market that the equity is overvalued which is consistent with fin dings of Huang and Walkling (1987). 1.7 Conclusion A bank acquires another bank because of number of reasons e.g. diversification, market power, managers preference etc. This literature review looks at the motives of MA based on the past academic studies i.e. Berkovitch Narayanan (1993), Sudarsanam et al (1996), Hannan Pilloff (2006), Martynova Renneboog (2006). Having said that, it is still not clear whether synergy gains or personal quest of managers is behind motivating majority of MAs. Evidence suggests that the managers may use the free cash flow for mergers that may produce negative NPV investments, because managers pursue their own interests rather than those of shareholders, resulting in mergers to not create value for shareholders. Whereas hubris, which supports the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) suggests that any bid for the target at premium overpays and it is result of the hubris. Arnold (2005) state it is similar to `winners curse` where the highest bidder will bid typically higher than the expected value of the purpose. However, most of the evidence suggests that the target shareholders gain positive abnormal returns while the cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) to the bidders are significantly negative and the combined banking firms seems to improve the shareholders value. Various studies also supports the fact that target shareholders gain at the expense of bidder shareholders and bank mergers do not create value for the combined firm in stock market reaction to bank mergers. Also, evidence shows that shareholders returns are not only affected by the MA announcements but they are also influenced by bid characteristics. 2.0 Methodology 2.1 Introduction Choosing appropriate research methods are clearly vital. According to Veal (1997) it is important for the researcher to be aware of the range of methods available and not to make claims that cannot be justified on the basis of the methods used. This part of this dissertation gives an outline how information was collected, the sample design statistics and which methodology is used by concentrating on European banking sector mergers between 2003 and 2007. Firstly, we have to decide the philosophy underlying this research, which involves choosing a paradigm. Collis and Hussey, 2003, p. 352 define paradi

Spread of Islam Between 632 750

Spread of Islam Between 632 750 How and why did the Muslims conquer so many lands in the relatively short period from 632 750? After Muhammad had died, his successors (the caliphs) had conquered most of the Persian and Roman world. In 640 the Muslims had attacked the Byzantine territory in the west and had moved on in the east where they had defeated the Persians at their capital Ctesiphonin 637. By 661 all of Persia had been on Muslim hands. During the 7th to 8thcentury Islamic ruled extended to Spain and India. The Islamic had conquered these capitals in a short period of time because they had attacked the weak empires first. The Byzantine and Sassanid states had been tired of fighting each other. The cities of the middle east had been taken back and forth from Persians and back to the Byzantines had been depopulated and their survivors had been burdened with heavy taxes. The Muslims had been welcomed into both territories by discontented groups.Byzantine empirewere glad to have new overlords. These were the rea sons for the Islamic success in a short period of time. Another reason for their success was there warfare and how they practiced their skills. Theyhad practiced their skills as warriors not fighting against each other but rather against unbelievers. They were a fully armed and on horseback military. How the Islam’s expanded so quickly The strategy of attacking and overtaking weak empires worked to their benefit because it gave them the option of placing an established military presence in new territories allowing them to have a firm grip on the new territories and eventually allowing them to invade and pursue surrounding regions. Also by relocating Arab tribes onto their new territory and implementing a great taxation system it gave the empire a consistent and necessary income to pay and keep happy the soldiers. Because these tribes faced persecution prior to the Islam’s taking over they welcomed them with open arms in exchange for protection and safety. I also believe by allowing religious tolerance rather than persecution it gave them a sense if unity which in turn would allow all religions to live peacefully in harmony Why the Muslims conquered so many lands in the short period of time Muhammad wanted to spread his new religion to others. Because of Muhammad’s insistence of abandoning polytheistic cults, it brought him conflict with other people. Therefore, he had to find a place where people would follow him. He found his supporters in Medina. The people there were ready to listen to his religious message and to regard him as their leader in the community. Even though Muslims were successful at Medina, they felt threatened by the Quraysh. Muhammad and his followers killed forty-nine of the Meccan enemy at the battle of Badr. Because of his great victory, Muhammad was able to gain new followers. After Muhammad’s death, the caliphs continued and followed Muhammad’s footsteps. They conquered more territories. The Byzantine and the Sassanid empires contributed to the quick expansion of the Muslims. Because of being already weakened empires due to fighting each other, the Muslims easily conquered both territories and extended the Islamic rule into more territories. Also, like you mentioned, the Muslims were already experts to warfare. They had no problem defeating the armies that the two empires had. They conquered so many lands because of their impeccable army attacking the weak empires and their expressed welcome by the oppressed people. Although Muhammad was dead by 632, you mentioned his successors, or the caliphs attacking and killing the weak empires of Byzantine and Sassanid, that was a great point. They set up the plans to conquer the other weak empires. Kaycee’s blog was also great because she summarized the events lead up to the capture of the Byzantine and Sassanid empires.Hansen, Your comments about the Muslim empire was, excellent and your blog Kaycee was a great summary of the events of 632-750. They had attacked the weak empires first. The Byzantine and the Sassanid had been tired of fighting each other that it left their capital to be depopulated and those people who had been left behind had to burden heavy taxes. When the Muslims had taken over they were glad to have new overlords. Another reason they had succeed was because of their strong army. They practice their skills as warriors to not fight each other but other people. After the death of Muhammad, the Caliphs or Muhammad’s successors conquered the western world of Rome and Persia. The Muslims attacked the Byzantine territory in Syria with ease and moved into Egypt in the 640’s. In 637, they invaded the Sassanid Empire to the east and defeated the Persians at their capital in Ctesiphon. By 661, they defeated all of Persia. The Islamic rule later extended from Spain to India in the 7th and 8th century. The Byzantine and Sassanid states were exhausted from fighting each other. The cities of the Middle East had been taken by the Persian Empire and retaken by the Byzantine Empire. They were depopulated and the few survivors were burdened with heavy taxes. The people welcomed the Muslims, in the hopes that their economy and life would be improved. For example, many Monophysite Christians were persecuted in their countries and they wanted to be free from discrimination. They were glad to have new Islamic overlords. There were also other reas ons for the Islamic success. The Islamic forces were now fighting together in groups called jihads. The jihads were against non-believers, especially non-Islamic peoples. They rode on horseback and camels and were a united front. The leaders or the Caliphs also played an important part in the relatively short takeover of other countries. The first two Caliphs ruled in conflict. The third Caliph, Uthman (r.644-656), a member of the Umayyad family and one of Muhammad’s sons-in-law, aroused discontentment among other clan member of the inner circle and soldiers. They were discontent because of his distribution of high offices and revenues. Under the Umayyad caliphate, the Muslim world became a state with its capital at Damascus. Borrowing from the instruction or laws of the civilizations that they had just conquered, the Muslims issued coins and hired former Byzantine and Persian officials. They made a functioning government, a centralization of a capital and made a common langu age. As the Islamic people became organized conquering lands was easier and faster. Works cited Hunt Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, R. Po-chia Hsia, Bonnie G. Smith, and Barbara H. Rosenwein. The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures. Second.Vol. I: to 1740. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2007. Print. The Muslims conquered so much land in a short period of time because initially they attacked already vulnerable empires.For example the Byzantine and Sassanid states had been mangled from many years of war and over taking that territory was essentially easy. Also the acceptance of Muslims by discontented groups in Byzantine and Sassanid gave them a solid building foundation in the new territories.These groups were Monophysite Christians were persecuted so they welcomed in the new lords.The already powerful Muslim warriors who had been fighting civilly were now united and were fighting wars and killing non believers together.They would invade and take over territory and when doing so they would build cities where they would move captured Arab tribes to live, work and pay taxes to them.By doing so they had established a command post for their military to fight out of in each territory making it easier to move and expand into other parts of Syria and Egypt.By the beginning of the eighth century Islamic rule had power over territories reaching from Spain to India. I also believe that because the Islamic warriors maintained peace and gave freedom of religion to the cities they had control over gave them an easier way to establish a following.They allowed religious tolerance for a special tax and protected the cities from civil wars and invaders.It gave citizens a peace of mind.

The Guilt of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth Essay -- Macbeth essays

     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Characters in the Shakespearean tragedy Macbeth scarcely feel guilt - with two exceptions: Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. In this essay let's consider their guilt-problem. In his book, On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy, H. S. Wilson comments regarding the guilt of the protagonist: It is a subtler thing which constitutes the chief fascination that the play exercises upon us - this fear Macbeth feels, a fear not fully defined, for him or for us, a terrible anxiety that is a sense of guilt without becoming (recognizably, at least) a sense of sin. It is not a sense of sin because he refuses to recognize such a category; and, in his stubbornness, his savage defiance, it drives him on to more and more terrible acts. (74) Blanche Coles states in Shakespeare's Four Giants that, regarding guilt in the play: Briefly stated, and with elaborations to follow, Macbeth is the story of a kindly, upright man who was incited and goaded, by the woman he deeply loved, into committing a murder and then, because of his sensitive nature, was unable to bear the heavy burden of guilt that descended upon him as a result of that murder. (37) A.C. Bradley in Shakespearean Tragedy demonstrates the guilt of Macbeth from the very beginning: Precisely how far his mind was guilty may be a question; but no innocent man would have started, as he did, with a start of fear at the mere prophecy of a crown, or have conceived thereupon immediately the thought of murder. Either this thought was not new to him, or he had cherished at least some vaguer dishonourable dream, the instantaneous recurrence of which, at the moment of his hearing of prophecy, revealed to him an inward and terrifying guilt. (316) In "Memoranda: Remarks on the C... ...1957.    Frye, Northrop. Fools of Time: Studies in Shakespearean Tragedy. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1967.    Kemble, Fanny. "Lady Macbeth." Macmillan's Magazine, 17 (February 1868), p. 354-61. Rpt. in Women Reading Shakespeare 1660-1900. Ann Thompson and Sasha Roberts, eds. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1997.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. http://chemicool.com/Shakespeare/macbeth/full.html, no lin.    Siddons, Sarah. "Memoranda: Remarks on the Character of Lady Macbeth." The Life of Mrs. Siddons. Thomas Campbell. London: Effingham Wilson, 1834. Rpt. in Women Reading Shakespeare 1660-1900. Ann Thompson and Sasha Roberts, eds. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1997.    Wilson, H. S. On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1957.

Employee Privacy In the Workplace Essay -- Business Managemant

Employee Privacy Rights in the Workplace For many years, there has been an ongoing fight between employers and employees pertaining to employee rights. The main thing that they have fought about is computer and email monitoring. Many employees don’t seen to understand exactly employers do this. Employers monitor email accounts and company computers mainly for two reasons. Reason one is that they don’t want their employees wasting company time for personal use. In most places, that is considered a very good reason, because if an employee is using company time for personal things, then work isn’t being done. Then it causes problems for everyone. Reason two is that employers want to make sure that employees aren’t doing anything illegal through either email or other internet sites. ..

Crime and Punishment Essay

The meaning of â€Å"Notes from Underground† to the artistic world is difficult to overestimate. As mentioned by L. P. Grosman: â€Å"’Notes from Underground’ – is one of the most exposing compositions of Dostoyevsky. Never has it happened again that he opens up in such fullness all of his most intimate thoughts, not meant for show secrets of his heart† (Grosman, 299). Becoming the prelude to other great works of Dostoyevsky, â€Å"Notes from Underground† influenced world literature, not only Russian literary growth. Merezhkovskii thought that the main difference between Dostoyevsky’s and Nietzsche’s â€Å"last freedoms† is that Dostoyevsky, growing â€Å"underground† ideas in his characters, but not completing them still tried to â€Å"grasp† onto Russian orthodoxy, while the other – praised the man: â€Å"Just as Nietzsche [†¦] Dostoyevsky considers the last gift of freedom to be the man-god, the antichrist, with the difference in the two being that Nietzsche blesses this gift, and Dostoyevsky curses it† (Merezhkovskii, 217 – 218). By the thoughts of Berdyaev, if before â€Å"Notes from Underground† Dostoyevsky was no more than a: humanist, full of compassion for the ‘poor people’, the ‘humiliated and insulted’, the characters of the ‘House of the Dead’, then from ‘Notes from Underground’ begins the brilliant ideological dialectic of Dostoyevsky. He is no longer simply a psychologist, he is a metaphysician; he explores, to the depths, the tragedies of human spirit. He is no longer a humanist by the old meaning of the word; He has completely torn away from Belinsky’s humanism. (Berdyaev, 36). At the same time Berdyaev did not share this opinion with Shestov about Dostoyevsky being an exclusive underground psychologist: â€Å"Dostoyevsky possesses underground psychology only in the moment of the spiritual journey of man. He does not leave us in the hopeless circle of underground psychology, he removes us from it† (Berdyaev, 141). Losing humanistic faith in man, Dostoyevsky has no choice but to be loyal to the Christian principles, deepening, strengthening and enriching them; therefore, he cannot be a â€Å"gloom, hopelessly-pessimistic† writer. In his darkest and most painful moments Dostoyevsky has the â€Å"light of Christ† – the â€Å"freeing light† (37). â€Å"Notes from Underground† was praised as one of the most reaction producing stories by Yermylov, where-in was conducted not only â€Å"malicious controversy† with the novel of a â€Å"genius† Russian revolutionary-democrat NG Chernyshevsky, but also told about â€Å"moral crimes†. Thus â€Å"in the face of the conscience of mankind† Dostoyevsky’s role in moral crime proved â€Å"heavy† because â€Å"you cannot talk about the crime with malice! † (Yermylov, 42 – 43). Exploring the works of the 1860’s, in particular the novel â€Å"Notes from Underground†, Kirpotin concluded about the importance of its poetics for all following works of Dostoyevsky and specific to his novel form: The poetics of ‘Notes from Underground’ contains within it undeveloped poetics from the later works of Dostoyevsky. The merging of philosophy and narration in ‘Notes from Underground’, and its dissolution in the story soon after [†¦] led to the creation of the first great novel by Dostoyevsky – ‘Crime and Punishment’, a new novel which was specific to Dostoyevsky’s type. (Kirpotin, 472, 475) The genius of Dostoyevsky in â€Å"Notes from Underground† is expressed in that he felt, and strongly expressed the psychology of philosophical experience. Demonstrating how one’s character forms or deforms under heavy influence, he was able to show the crystallization of the human spirit; this concept has gained world renowned meaning. Separating Dostoyevsky from his character and considering â€Å"Notes from Underground† as a complete work of art and nothing less, Kirpotin admitted the truth expressed in the story about the author’s vision, retaining its aesthetic nature. However, through aesthetics Dostoyevsky â€Å"peered into anthology, into the philosophy of the world, into space and society†, but – stated Kirpotin – â€Å"as he understood them, of course† (Kirpotin, 175). Understanding the writer, according to Kirpotin was inadequate for the ideas of the advanced people in society; Dostoyevsky kept to his ingenious artistic discoveries despite his beliefs. Prospective studies carried out under the archetypal approach in the study of the â€Å"underground† image help find the answers to a number of important questions about this work: on the true place of the man from the â€Å"underground† in Dostoyevsky’s work, on the expressive or un-expressive characteristics in all its characters and on the means of poetic incarnation of the â€Å"underground† phenomenon, on the influence of the image of an â€Å"underground† hero on the classic works of world literature, which spawned a whole gallery of â€Å"underground† characters.

Numbermatching.com business strategy

Advertising is an impersonal selling and communication method which makes use of various types of media to reach the target public in short time. Advertising aims at gaining exposure, creating awareness, changing attitudes of target customers in favor of sponsors product and services and also at effecting sales and improving corporate image. Media Selection for No. 1 match Media planning includes decisions relating to which media should be used and when and how often should advertisements be placed in the selected media. The basic purpose of media planning is to optimize the communication reach to the relevant audience within the available budget. Effective and efficient adverting rests on decisions based on collecting data from appropriate internal and external sources. a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Press (including all types of newspapers and magazines): wider circulation, limited life, good for mass communication and reminder message. b)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Direct Mail: Restricted circulation, flexible usage, private in nature, high impact. c)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Outdoor (including hoardings, posters, neon signs): local circulation, durable, reminder media. d)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Radio: Wide reach, cuts through illiteracy barriers, quick reminder messages possible. e)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Television: Combines both Audio and Visual, limited reach, high degree of viewers involvement, suitable for product demonstration. f)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Miscellaneous (such as exhibition/fairs): Local reach, good product demonstration, impactful response. Promotion: It is through Budget, theme, media, timing. If major resources are to be committed, plan for measurement of promotional effectiveness should be include feedback from the market place, marketing research. Like products and prices, customization of advertising and promotion are very much possible in cyber marketing. Besides customization, the customer is contacted when he is giving full attention to the website. In fact, when a customer views any site he has done so after deliberate and conscious effort and choice. This increases his commitment to the message that he is viewing on the internet. It generates a hierarchy of impacts like creation of awareness, interest, desire and action on the consumer. Internet has been found to be amenable to finer tuning for most of these impacts. As a result, it is possible to better transport the customer from one level of impact to the next higher one and do so more quickly. The combination of this factor with the feature of individualization makes the output very powerful. Direct Marketing All corporate marketing activities have to be necessarily carried out in such a way that they lead to generation of surplus funds. Market segmentation helps in optimising the marketing mix for a segment. The output of a segmentation analysis is a profile of customer target group focusing on details that will best help to develop product, promotional, pricing and distribution strategies. The set of benefits sought to build the configuration of benefits sought and then select benefits in our offering that will constitute a critical advantage to act as the buying inducement. Segmentation of a market is not an arbitrary process, but neither is there a unique set of segments to be discovered. The two approaches, top down and bottom up (logical division and offering) which are used for breaking up. Public Relations measuring the degree of success of a public relations campaign or improving the response of personnel in numbermatch.com Measuring performance against standards Measurement of performance against standards should ideally be a forward-looking or on proactive basis with a view to detecting deviations in advance of their occurrences, and should be avoided by appropriate corrective action ‘in advance’. The project manger can often predict probable perceive much ahead of schedule, it should be uncovered as early as possible. References Philip Kotler (2002), 11th ed., â€Å"Marketing Management†, PHI-New Delhi