The Stand Essays - The Stand, Randall Flagg, Abigail, Harold

The Stand Stephen King's The Stand is an exciting novel that depicts the powers of good against fiendish. In the year 1991, a plague strikes America, leaving just two or three thousand individuals alive who are resistant to the plague. Of the survivors, the individuals who serve Good intuitively participate in Boulder, Colorado, while the individuals who revere the Dark Man are attracted to Las Vegas, Nevada. The two gatherings independently re-fabricate society, until one must pulverize the other. Franni Goldsmith verges on murdering herself. She figures she can not manage her parent's demises, being unmarried and pregnant, and having the main other survivor in her old neighborhood of Ogunquit, Main be her as of late expired closest companion's bizarre sibling Harold Lauder. Fran sets aside her own affections for Harold aside, and goes with him to the spot in her fantasies, to Boulder, Colorado. On their way, they get together with six individuals from different states in the United States who went along with them on their excursion. Fran is upset by her fantasies, as every one of them are by their own. She dreams of an old woman named Abigail. This woman is benevolent and cherishing and vows to shield them from the fiendishness. In the fantasies there is additionally a Dark Man. He is consistently there hiding, holding back to assault. Harold admits to himself that he is enamored with Fran and goes insane when he understands how genuine Fran has become with Stuart Redman, one of the newcomers to their voyaging gathering. Harold turns out to be madly envious and plots to isolate them, regardless of whether it implies murder. Harold doesn't let it be known to any of them, yet his fantasies are unique in relation to theirs. In his fantasies the Dark Man offers Harold force and regard, something Harold would never envision in the past. Harold realizes his predetermination is to go to Las Vegas. The gathering shows up in Boulder, and not long after are joined by more than one thousand other people who long for Abigail and this spot. They eventuwilly structure a general public where they settled and has gatherings to choose what they would do about the Dark Man. Abigail tells the individuals that three of them, including Stuart, must be sent to devastate the Dark Man. In the interim Harold covertly leaves with the Dim Man's lady of the hour to-be (Nadine) to Las Vegas. Harold is prepared to execute Stuart, yet is slaughtered rather by the desire of Good. Nadine makes it securely to Las Vegas before Stuart and his two sidekicks are going to be hanged. Out of the sky the hand of Good comes and annihilates the Dark Man saving the three men. After much difficulty, Stuart comes back to Fran and her infant child and together they plant the seeds of another general public. The Stand is a book about human instinct. It shows individuals' the significance of good or wickedness. For the most part, it shows how it is in man's temperament to assemble society and to battle for his convictions. I seen this book as incredibly engaging in light of the fact that it was well composed and fairly fascinating, in spite of it's otherworldly perspectives. I would suggest this book for any individual who appreciates blood and gore flicks. Justin

Ethical Dilemmas On Social Work Practice Social Work Essay Essay Example

Moral Dilemmas On Social Work Practice Social Work Essay For this task I will explain individual qualities, biass, moral situation and the effect they have had on cultural work design by thinking about one of my convictions and how I needed to question myself to improve of it. Utilizing Marxists and Feminists places of enslavement I plan to put, perceive, respect and worth different people for which I will give a delineation of which happened to me and how I needed to contest partiality towards others. I will other than talk hypothetical models to undertaking oppression and partiality by using the PCS hypothetical record and how individuals can go enabled through gatherings, protagonism or rule law. Individual qualities, Biass, Ethical Dilemmas, Conflict of Interest and their effect on Social Work Practice We will compose a custom article test on Ethical Dilemmas On Social Work Practice Social Work Essay explicitly for you for just $16.38 $13.9/page Request now We will compose a custom article test on Ethical Dilemmas On Social Work Practice Social Work Essay explicitly for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Recruit Writer We will compose a custom exposition test on Ethical Dilemmas On Social Work Practice Social Work Essay explicitly for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Recruit Writer A worth is something that worries individual or a conviction they hold, this decides how an individual carries on, values do non find if something is said whether it is correct or wrong in today s society. Be that as it may, an individual s conviction s can affect how they carry on towards others. Preference is a term which has rather negative intensions and is typically taken to mean an unfriendly disposition towards an individual or gathering ( Billingham et al. 2008. Pg. 196 ) One of my qualities and an inclination of mine is that any occupation I am utilized in will at long last travel to individuals working in an outside state, especially India. This all stems from when I worked for an outsider acknowledgment card processor, in the wake of giving them nine mature ages of administration I was heading out to be made excess and my occupation would be actioned from individuals in India. For the accompanying two months I would hold to create individuals from that point all the applications I was by and by or had taken a shot at. This gave me a problem do state them all the data I knew or only some of it? I must be proficient, so I gave them as much data on the applications for which I thought about, I even made client ushers to help with the arrangement and they could use when I had left the organization. When addressing the individuals I found that we shared things practically speaking with one another and they were disheartened that an individual would lose their occupation. It was nt their error I was being made excess however the organizations in which we worked for. I had effectively tested the new conviction that had ascended from a pitiful situation. Valuess are just every piece great as the activities they brief ( Preston-Shoot, 1996. Pg 31 ) When working with individuals from different states I will require to save my ain qualities and biass, as everybody merits help and guidance in their lives no issue where they originate from known to man. In the event that I neglect to put my qualities and biass aside while working with them it will affect the guide they will have from me, I should be loosened disapproved to all human advancements. Thompson ( 2005 ) clarifies that there is an interest for validity ( congruity ) to be accomplished in cultural work, that a positive working connection between administration client and cultural specialist is required dependent on trust and respect for one another to create. Distinguish, Recognize, Respect and Value Diverse Persons Thompson ( 2006 ) portrays partiality as to put a distinction and is non needfully a negative term . Be that as it may, when utilized in footings of lawful, moral or from a political perspective it is alluded to as being out of line for example being cowardly treated for your sexual orientation or social start. On the off chance that this happens it can take to an individual being abused. When taking a gander at enslavement from a Marxists position DAmato claims that individuals are persecuted in light of the class in which they live in, that grown-up females, homophiles or individuals of shaded covering are low-level to the Bourgeoisie and Capitalism is required in the public arena as it shapes and relies upon oppression for its perseverance. Marxists contend that if bigotry, sexism or homophobia was to be grasped it will plan that an entrepreneur specialists would require to be ousted and that enslavement is key to the clash of communism. From an Extremist Feminists see Zeiber ( 2008 ) contends that grown-up females are mistreated inside the male centric framework, that marriage and the family unit are an outcome of industrialist economy. Holmstrom ( 2003 ) talks about Socialist Feminism, holding that grown-up females are persecuted by the laterality of work powers and of the monetary disparity as a result of the spots of intensity guys have inside society. I chip away at a ranch where we habitually have Polish each piece great as British individuals working at that place. One twelvemonth a colleague was doing boorish stiflers towards the Polish individuals, as others were doing cheerfulness at their development, and their Catholic convictions were erroneous. I could see that something was inaccurate, so I addressed them ; they revealed to me they believed they were being victimized and begun to encounter truly mistreated in light of the fact that they were non British. At that point I addressed my chief about the situation which was go oning and he left me to cover with. I needed to accept about how I was venturing out to approach it so the two gatherings would be content with the outcome. So I requested that the guilty party come outside and talk with me. I disclosed to him that the Polish individuals were miserable the way wherein he was taking care of them. He was stunned as he suspected they were all holding a giggle with one another. It was hard for me to confront the guilty party as it was my male parent, a grown-up male I gazed upward to. Thinking about what had happened I realized I had said the correct things to my male parent as they kept on working with each in agreement, non wanting to arouse one another, empowering a decent workplace for all. Segregation can be found in foundations like the congregation, jail or by a person in a position of intensity. It very well may be secretly actioned by using covers like the Klu Klux Klan in USA wear veils concealing their distinction or unmistakably actioned like politically-sanctioned racial segregation in South Africa or the BNP in Britain. Hypothetical Frameworks for Understanding Discrimination and Oppression Thompson ( 1997 ) shows how enslavement can be investigated using the PCS hypothetical record and there are three degrees: Individual ( P ) a man s positions for example inclination against a gathering of individuals. Social ( C ) shared qualities between others, what is off base or right, this in twist signifiers an agreement. Auxiliary ( S ) how enslavement of society is shaped through foundation who bolster social standards A ; individual convictions for example confidence, media or specialists. Here is an outline of the PCS hypothetical record in real life: Phosphorus: Young grown-up male in the nine you work at offers violative and derogative comments about a sprightly grown-up male who goes to other than. He says that gay individuals are non characteristic or ordinary . Degree centigrades: Gay individuals generally repel the network around him, and a significant number of the network individuals are engaged with the nearby church, keeping unfaltering situations about sexual moral thought processes . Second: Popular newspaper media chides the strange exercises of gay individuals. Strict pioneers of all religions back up the instatement of Torahs to end equivalent rights for bright individuals. Enactment is passed by parliament that bargains the privileges of gay, sapphic and promiscuous individuals. There is an overwhelming agreement of intensity utilized in all signifiers of basic life. ( Wood, J. 2001 ) By using the PCS hypothetical record it can help an individual form an idea with regards to why others act the way they do for example the generalization of a youthful have oning a goon, you accept they are issue shapers on account of what the media have announced, yet non each juvenile is out for issue. Another hypothetical model to undertaking oppression and bias is through approval. By approving individual intends to empower a person to determine command over and taking obligation for ain their activities. The Humanist assault via Carl Rogers ( 1959 ) urges individuals to go sceptered. As understudy cultural specialists we are educated about approving the administration client, to focus on their qualities and to cooperate as friends, we other than need to defend helpless individuals, to take into history an individual s financial, political and social foundation at a similar clasp. Gatherings other than work to approve individuals as they offer help and in the event that they go about as one they can go amazing. An outline of this is from the Times Online dated June thirteenth 2007 How football made us ( see connection 1 ) , by sorting out a football crew for intellectually wiped out patients they each got sceptered ready to make things on their ain without holding help from others. Make use of Schemes to Challenge Discrimination, Inequality and Injustice There are plots in topographic point to help teach individuals about disparity, partiality and shamefulness, for example, protagonism and rule law. As cultural specialists we have to back up and talk up for people that face being abused or oppressed. By using protagonism to represent the individuals who can't talk up for themselves. For example experience larning or conveying difficulties. Walker ( 2008 ) prompts that protagonism has it qualities however next to has its failings. Quality from using protagonism are: Peoples who have been socially rejected from standard society expansion a voice, when a help client has a cultural specialist who listens can be offered affirmation to talk for themselves, hence turni

Fresh Ink September 17, 2013

Fresh Ink September 17, 2013 HARDCOVER RELEASES   Help for the Haunted  by John Searles  (William Morrow) It begins with a call in the middle of snowy February evening. Lying in her bed, young Sylvie Mason overhears her parents on the phone across the hall. This is not the first late-night call they have received, since her mother and father have an uncommon occupation, helping haunted souls find peace. And yet, something in Sylvie senses that this call is different than the rest, especially when they are lured to the old church on the outskirts of town. Once there, her parents disappear, one after the other, behind the churchs red door, leaving Sylvie alone in the car. Not long after, she drifts off to sleep only to wake to the sound of gunfire. Nearly a year later, we meet Sylvie again struggling with the loss of her parents, and living in the care of her older sister, who may be to blame for what happened the previous winter.  As the story moves back and forth in time, through the years leading up to the crime and the months following, the ever inquisitive and tender-hearted Sylvie pursues the mystery, moving closer to the knowledge of what occurred that night, as she comes to terms with her familys past and uncovers secrets that have haunted them for years. Fortunately, the Milk  by Neil Gaiman  (HarperCollins) I bought the milk, said my father. I walked out of the corner shop, and heard a noise like this:thummthumm. I looked up and saw a huge silver disc hovering in the air above Marshall Road. Hullo, I said to myself.  Thats not something you see every day. And then something odd happened. When a father runs out to buy milk for his childrens breakfast cereal, the last thing he expects is to be abducted by aliens. He soon finds himself transported through time and space on an extraordinary adventure, where the fate of the universe depends on him and the milk. But will his children believe his wild story? Traveling Sprinkler  by Nicholson Baker  (Blue Rider Press) Paul Chowder, the poet protagonist of Nicholson Baker’s widely acclaimed novel  The Anthologist, is turning fifty-five and missing his ex-girlfriend, Roz, rather desperately. As he approaches the dreaded birthday, Paul is uninspired by his usual artistic outlet (although he’s pleased that his poetry anthology,  Only Rhyme, is selling “steadily”). Putting aside poetry in favor of music, and drawing on his classical bassoon training, Paul turns instead to his new acoustic guitar with one goal in mind: to learn songwriting. As he struggles to come to terms with the horror of America’s drone wars and Roz’s recent relationship with a local NPR radio host, Paul fills his days with Quaker meetings, Planet Fitness workouts, and some experiments with tobacco. Written in Baker’s beautifully unconventional prose, and scored with musical influences from Debussy to Tracy Chapman to Paul himself,  Traveling Sprinkler  is an enchanting, hilariousâ€"and very necessaryâ€"novel by one of the most beloved and influential writers today. The Last First Day  by Carrie Brown  (Pantheon) Ruth has always stood firmly beside her upstanding, brilliant husband, Peter, the legendary chief of New Englands Derry School for boys. The childless couple has a unique, passionate bond that grew out of Ruths arrival on Peters familys doorstep as a young girl orphaned by tragedy. And though sometimes frustrated by her role as lifelong helpmate, Ruth is awed by her good fortune in her life with Peter. As the novel opens, we see the Derry School in all its glorious fall colors and witness the loosening of the aging Peters grasp: he will soon have to retire, and Ruth is wondering what they will do in their old age, separated from the school into which they have poured everything, including their savings. The narrative takes us back through the years, revealing the explosive spark and joy between Ruth and Peter-undiminished now that they are in their seventies-and giving us a deeply felt portrait of a woman from a generation that quietly put individual dreams aside for the good of a pa rtnership, and of the ongoing gift of the right mans love. The Impersonator  by Mary Miley  (Minotaur Books) In 1917, Jessie Carr, fourteen years old and sole heiress to her family’s vast fortune, disappeared without a trace. Now, years later, her uncle Oliver Beckett thinks he’s found her: a young actress in a vaudeville playhouse is a dead ringer for his missing niece. But when  Oliver confronts the girl, he learns he’s wrong. Orphaned young, Leah’s been acting since she was a toddler. Oliver, never one to miss an opportunity, makes a propositionâ€"with his coaching, Leah can impersonate Jessie, claim the fortune, and split it with him. The role of a lifetime, he says. A one-way ticket to Sing Sing, she hears. But when she’s let go from her job, Oliver’s offer looks a lot more appealing.  Leah agrees to the con,  but secretly promises herself to try and find out what happened to the real Jessie. There’s only one problem: Leah’s act won’t fool the one person who knows the truth about Jessie’s disappearance. This Song Will Save Your Life  by Leila Sales  (Farrar, Straus Giroux) Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski’s strong suit. All throughout her life, she’s been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing. Seven for a Secret  by Lyndsay Faye  (Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam) Six months after the formation of the NYPD, its most reluctant and talented officer, Timothy Wilde, thinks himself well versed in his city’s dark practicesâ€"until he learns of the gruesome underworld of lies and corruption ruled by the “blackbirders,” who snatch free Northerners of color from their homes, masquerade them as slaves, and sell them South to toil as plantation property.  The abolitionist Timothy is horrified by these traders in human flesh. But in 1846, slave catching isn’t just legalâ€"it’s law enforcement. When the beautiful and terrified Lucy Adams staggers into Timothy’s office to report a robbery and is asked what was stolen, her reply is, “My family.” Their search for her mixed-race sister and son will plunge Timothy and his feral brother, Valentine, into a world where police are complicit and politics savage, and corpses appear in the most shocking of places. Timothy finds himself caught between power and principles, desperate to protect his only brother and to unravel the puzzle before all he cares for is lost. Dead Girls Dont Lie by Jennifer Shaw Wolf (Walker Childrens) Rachel died at two a.m . . . Three hours after Skyler kissed me for the first time. Forty-five minutes after she sent me her last text. Jaycee and Rachel were best friends. But that was beforebefore that terrible night at the old house. Before Rachel shut Jaycee out. Before Jaycee chose Skyler over Rachel. Then Rachel is found dead. The police blame a growing gang problem in their small town, but Jaycee is sure it has to do with that night at the old house. Rachel’s text is the first clueâ€"starting Jaycee on a search that leads to a shocking secret. Rachel’s death was no random crime, and Jaycee must figure out who to trust before she can expose the truth. Bleeding Edge  by Thomas Pynchon (The Penguin Press HC) It is 2001 in New York City, in the lull between the collapse of the dot-com boom and the terrible events of September 11th. Silicon Alley is a ghost town, Web 1.0 is having adolescent angst, Google has yet to IPO, Microsoft is still considered the Evil Empire. There may not be quite as much money around as there was at the height of the tech bubble, but there’s no shortage of swindlers looking to grab a piece of what’s left. Maxine Tarnow is running a nice little fraud investigation business on the Upper West Side, chasing down different kinds of small-scale con artists. She used to be legally certified but her license got pulled a while back, which has actually turned out to be a blessing because now she can follow her own code of ethicsâ€"carry a Beretta, do business with sleazebags, hack into people’s bank accountsâ€"without having too much guilt about any of it. Otherwise, just your average working momâ€"two boys in elementary school, an off-and-on situation with her sort of semi-ex-husband Horst, life as normal as it ever gets in the neighborhoodâ€"till Maxine starts looking into the finances of a computer-security firm and its billionaire geek CEO, whereupon things begin rapidly to jam onto the subway and head downtown. She soon finds herself mixed up with a drug runner in an art deco motorboat, a professional nose obsessed with Hitler’s aftershave, a neoliberal enforcer with footwear issues, p lus elements of the Russian mob and various bloggers, hackers, code monkeys, and entrepreneurs, some of whom begin to show up mysteriously dead. Foul play, of course. PAPERBACK RELEASES The Dangerous Animals Club  by Stephen Tobolowsky  (Simon Schuster) If you ran into Stephen Tobolowsky on the street, you would not be mistaken: Yes, you’ve seen him before. A childhood dentist? A former geometry teacher? Your local florist? Tobolowsky is a character actor, one of the most prolific screen and stage presences of our time, having appeared in productions that range fromDeadwood  to  Glee, from  Mississippi Burning  to  Groundhog Day. But Stephen Tobolowsky, it turns out, is also a dazzlingly talented storyteller and writer.  The Dangerous Animals Club  is a beguiling series of stories combining biography and essay, with a tone both hilarious and introspective. The stories have heroics and embarrassments, riotous humor and pathos, characters ranging from Bubbles the Pigmy Hippo to Stephen’s unforgettable mother, and scenes that include coke-fueled parties, Hollywood sets, and hospital rooms. The Man in the Window  by Jon Cohen  (Amazon Publishing) Since he was disfigured in a fire sixteen years ago, recluse Louis Malone has remained hidden from the prying eyes of his neighbors in the small town of Waverly. Across town, Iris Shula, a lonely and unlovely nurse knows, at thirty-seven, it is unlikely that her Prince Charming will ever appear. But Iris is about to learn how wrong she is. When Louis accidently falls out of his second story window these two kindred souls are brought together. What unfolds is a most unlikely love story. One that will make you laugh and that will break and remake your heart. Book Lust Rediscoveries is a series devoted to reprinting some of the best (and now out of print) novels originally published from 1960 to 2000. Each book is personally selected by NPR commentator and Book Lust author Nancy Pearl and includes an introduction by her, as well as discussion questions for book groups and a list of recommended further reading. Beluga  by Rick Gavin  (Minotaur Books) A few months ago Nick Reid and his compadre Desmond liberated some money from a nasty meth dealer, and now they need to launder it.  After lending out a couple of thousand here and there, with hopes of getting a small return, all kinds of “investment opportunities” are coming out of the woodwork.  And one of them has trouble written all over it. The brother of Desmond’s ex-wife wants a small sum to set up a scheme involving a trailer full of stolen tires.  Which sets off all kinds of alarm bells, but Shawnica insists that Nick and Desmond help him out.   In the next few days, they are set upon by a ninja schoolgirl assassin and a couple of Delta gangsters. Soon all thought of recouping their investment goes out the window, and they’ll settle for staying alive. The Salinger Contract  by Adam Langer  (Open Road Media) Adam Langer, the narrator of this deft and wide-ranging novel by the author of the same name, tells the intertwining tales of two writers navigating a plot neither one of them could have ever imagined. There may be no other escape than to write their way out of it. Adam is a writer and stay-at-home dad in Bloomington, Indiana, drawn into an uneasy friendship with the charismatic and bestselling thriller author Conner Joyce. Conner is having trouble writing his next book, and when a menacing stranger approaches him with an odd-and lucrative-proposal, events quickly begin to spiral out of control. The Elementals  by Francesca Lia Block  (St. Martins Griffin) Ariel Silverman is a normal girl, making plans for college, when her mother reveals she has breast cancer.   On top of this Ariel is still recovering from the loss of her best friend Jeni who vanished on a school trip.   As she tries to adjust to college life in a new city, Ariel cannot let the mystery of Jenis disappearance rest and takes the now-dormant investigation upon herself.   Her journey will take her into a  world of astonishing beauty, sexual discovery, and danger. ____________________________ Sign up for our newsletter  to have the best of Book Riot delivered straight to your inbox every week. No spam. We promise. To keep up with Book Riot on a daily basis,  follow us on Twitter,  like us  on Facebook,  and subscribe to the Book Riot podcast in  iTunes  or via  RSS.  So much bookish goodnessâ€"all day, every day.

Acquisitions - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 19 Words: 5678 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? Table 3.1 First Merger Wave 1897 1904 10 Table 3.2 Merger and Acquisitions in 1990s 18 Figure 3.1 First Merger Wave 1897 -1904 11 Figure 3.2 Third Merger Wave 1963 1970 12 Figure 3.3 Merger Acquisitions in 1970 -1980 14 Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Acquisitions" essay for you Create order LITERATURE REVIEW Many firms used corporate mergers or acquisitions as business strategy to accomplish various objectives. For instance, businesses used acquisitions to enter into new markets and regions, allocate capital or gain technical expertise and knowledge. Therefore, organizations often utilize strategic mergers and acquisitions in order to grow or survive. However most of the poorly managed acquisitions or merger resulted in disappointing performance and up to 50 percent are considered unsuccessful (see Louis, 1982). Furthermore, according to Smith and Hershman (1997), it was held by Mercer Management Consulting that in 1980s, 57 percent of acquisitions were failed and the successful corporate acquisitions in 1990s were hardly 50 percent (p.39, cited in Smith and Hershman, 1997). To date, merger or acquisition is one of the most widely used instruments to enhance the growth of organizations. Systematic and sophisticated corporate research helps companies to understand the pre and post-acquisitions performance and achieving other business objectives (as discussed in Singh Zollo, 2000). However, according to Sirower (1997), empirical academic literature does not provide any clear understanding, which facilitates the managers to maximise the success of acquisitions or merger programs. Therefore, understanding the source of value creation is critical to determine the causes of failure or success in corporate merger or acquisitions. The literature review presented in this section critically evaluates and analyze the earlier studies in order to solve the paradigm of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Merger Acquisitions and Value Creationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. Corporate Acquisitions and Their Research Paradigms Datta et al. (1992) suggested two distinct frameworks for acquisitions programmes to identify sources of shareholders wealth i.e. strategic management and financial economics literature and both approaches follow different research directions. The strategic management approach focused on factors that have been controlled by management. For instance, Datta et al (1992) suggested that in order to assess the post-acquisition performance, this approach attempts to differentiate between various diversification strategies and types of acquisitions or types of payment in acquisitions (i.e. stock vs. cash). In contrast, financial economic research attempted to prove the unique hypothesis of market for corporate control. This approach views the acquisition activities as a contest among different management teams in a competition to control corporate firms as argued by Datta et al (1992). Therefore, this view suggests that the value creation through merger or acquisitions is decided by capital market and its characteristics including its competitiveness such as regulatory modification affecting a particular market (see Datta et al, 1992). However, these two methodologies are unable to explain the factors resulting in unsuccessful corporate acquisitions. Thus, many academics such as Chatterjee (1992), attempted to identify critical variables of ineffective performance in acquisitions or merger activities by studying the relationship between post-acquisition performance and integration. While the initial notion by Kitching (1967) that the key factor for a successful corporate acquisition is the post-acquisition integration process, it was recognised that acquisition or merger activities create value not only from strategic factors realised through synergies (see Chatterjee, 1992), but also from the process itself, which leads to anticipated synergistic factors, as reflect in capital market expectations (see Jemison and Sitkin, 1986). Therefore, it is very important to understand the processes and factors resulting in corporate merger and acquisitions value creation before we critically evaluate the research paradigm of value creation. Evolution of Acquisitions In order to improve the understanding of the research hypothesis, firstly this paper attempts to review trends of acquisitions and mergers followed by comments on value creation during these periods. For illustration purposes, I will focus my attention to the US economy considering the fact that corporate sector is enriched with these activities and capital markets of United States are much developed comparative to rest of the world. Following section presents the analysis of corporate mergers and acquisitions programmes dated back to1897. The First Wave, 1897-1904: According to Gaughan (1999), this particular period is dominated by horizontal acquisitions resulting surge in stock markets and ultimately creation of monopolies. Some of the todays giant conglomerates created in first wave include General Electric, American Tobacco, Du Pont, Kodak and Standard Oil (see Gaughan, 1999). First Merger Wave 1897 1904 Year Number of Mergers 1897 69 1898 303 1899 1208 1900 340 1901 423 1902 379 1903 142 1904 79 Table 3.1 First Merger Wave 1897 1904 Source: Gaughan (1999), p.24 Figure 3.1 First Merger Wave 1897 -1904 Data Source: Gaughan (1999), p.24 The Second Wave, 1916-1929: In contrast to first wave which is termed as merging for monopoly, the second wave is termed as merging for oligopoly. Gaughan (1999) pointed out that the reason of this terminology is the predominance of vertical or horizontal integration of companies during the period of 1925 to end of the decade. Moreover, Jemison and Stikin (1986) argued that the abundant capital availability stimulated by favourable economic conditions resulted in prominent corporate mergers and integration. Further according to Gaughan (1999), the antitrust law force during this era was stricter comparative to the first merger wave, which created more oligopolies and vertical integration and fewer monopolies in contrast to earlier wave. The Third Wave, 1965-1969: According to Gaughan (1986), the decade of 1960s observed controversial of the merger and acquisitions activities and termed as conglomerates. The companies such as ITT (International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, USA) and Textron acquired numerous unrelated businesses to diversify and to reduce cyclic risks. Furthermore, during this period the conglomerates not only grew rapidly and profitably but the management were perceived to be skilful as well, which facilitated the diversity in acquisitions and operations of the companies (see Judelson, 1969). For instance, Geneen (1984) documented that during this wave ITT built itself into a highly diversified conglomerate by acquiring various businesses such as insurance, food and car rentals. Moreover, he found that executives of the company used the advanced financial tools like detailed budgeting and tight financial controls to make these acquisitions successful and well-functioning. Following figure presents the overview of the a ctivities during the period: Scholars like Goold and Luchs (1993) argued that general management skills were one of the vital factors in successful acquisitions and mergers during this era, which also helped corporations to diversify in different businesses. Moreover, engaging in unrelated business by many companies was based on the assumptions that different businesses would not require dissimilar managerial skills (see Goold and Luchs, 1993). However, in late 1960s companies start facing performance problems and the share price of these conglomerates such as Textron fell almost 50% comparative to 9% drop in Dow Jones Industrial average (see Bonge and Coleman, 1972). Furthermore, in early 1970s companies began to experience profitless growth like General Electric sales increased by 40% from 1965 to 1970 but its profit actually dropped (see Goold and Quinn, 1990). According to Gaughan (1999), the era has been ended when ITT spin off in three different companies. It is perceived that most of the mergers during the period failed and companies jettisoned their under-performing and unrelated business to face the competitive environment (see Sikora, 1995). In addition, Sadlter et al (1997) observed that the combined value of businesses separated from their parent firms significantly increased to more than $100 billion in 1996 comparative to 1993 figure of $17.5 billion. Acquisitions in the 1970s: The merger and acquisition activities decreased significantly in 1970s, which can be seen in the following figure. Figure 3.3 Merger Acquisitions in 1970 -1980 Source: Gaughan (1999), p.36 As a consequence of problem in merger and acquisitions activities experienced by conglomerates, the senior executives realised that only general management skills are not sufficient for a successful transactions (see Chandler, 1962). Therefore, they focused their attentions toward the long term companys objectives instead of operating of strategic business units (see Christensen, 1965). Andrews (1971) highlighted that this change introduced the concept of corporate strategy for firms and most CEOs of the organizations started accepting that strategy is their unique and primary task. However, corporate strategy poses some practical problem and did not help executives in deciding about allocation of resources among businesses especially when each investment proposal has a different strategy (see Goold and Luchs, 1993). Moreover, Bower (1970) argued that investment decision should be part of overall business strategy rather than prevaricate on project to project basis. In 1970s these revolutions in corporate finance lead to the development of portfolio planning by Boston Consulting Group (1970). Soon, portfolio planning became famous in corporate sectors and according to the survey of Haspeslagh (1982) by 1979, 45 percent of the Fortune 500 companies were using portfolio planning in some form. However, with the passage of time problems related to portfolio planning emerged. As Goolds and Luchs (1993), argued that the corporate manager with long experience of particular sector of the industry found extremely difficult to manage their newly acquired businesses in vibrant and unfamiliar sectors. Consequently, this affected the performance of new acquisitions or mergers of the firms. In search of solution to this problem Hamermesh and White (1984) found that administration was a vital factor in explain business performance of mergers or acquisitions but many organizations incorrectly addressed the approach. The Fourth Wave, 1981-1989: The decade of 1980s seen another merger wave in business world. In this period, merger deals were frequent and larger and total value of mergers were approximately $.13 trillion in US (see Sikora, 1995). This was influenced by service sector and significant support from investors; lenders and globalization facilitated companies to finance the buyout deals (see Sikora, 1995). Moreover, the reasons of the fourth merger wave were excess capacity (see Jensen, 1993), agency problems (see Jensen, 1988), market failure (see Shleifer Vishny, 1997), and tax and antitrust law changes (see Bhagat et al, 1990). It seems that during 80s, diversified firms do not have capacity to create values therefore companies start re-thinking about role of corporate management as well as appropriate strategies for diversified firms. As highlighted by Goold and Luchs (1993) highlighted that in order to survive firms cut back costs and scale down their staffs but these were not adequate to create value. Furthermore, they argued that diversification strategies failed to create value for many businesses. Nevertheless, these failures compelled senior managers to transform their primary goals to creating shareholders values instead of building huge businesses (see Porter, 1987). Moreover, management of the companies started evaluating corporate performance like stock market by using economic indicator instead of accounting measures and take whatever steps were essential to enhance the value of their firms stock (see Goold and Luchs, 1993). However, value based planning based on financial tools of Return on Equity (ROE), internal rate of return and discounted cash flow provided different views to managers about competitive advantages and stock prices (see Rappaport, 1986). Further, Goold and Luchs (1993) pointed out that a higher stock price could be a reward for creating value. However, during the era of 80s firms that did not diversify into unrelated businesses and specialize into their core industry were able to create value and turn out to be successful companies (see Peter and Waterman 1982). Mintzberg and Lampel (1999) also support this notion by arguing that focused corporations which know their customers, have deep knowledge and understand their missions were better able to create value in contrast to companies that applied the diversification concept of value creation. In summary of the merger and acquisitions activities in 1960s and 1980s, it can be assert that conglomeration and diversification were the dominant trends in 1960s contrast to specialization and consolidations phenomena of 1980s. However, empirical evidence on value creation tends to suggest that significant merger and acquisitions of 60s reversed subsequently and did not lead to profitability. According to Shleifer and Vishny (1994) many of the conglomerates created in 1960s were destroyed in 1980s, which provides the evidence of failure in notion of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“merger acquisitions and value creationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? that was not expected in 1960s. The Current Wave, 1990-Present: According to Gaughan (1999), in contrast to 1960s decade of conglomerates and 1980s period of Leveraged Buyouts (LBO), the dominant deals of 90s were designed with a view to fit strategically among merging firms. Moreover, the forces behind the merger and acquisitions activities were different than earlier periods and corporate sector seen some of mega-deals during that period. For instance in 1996, the top 100 deals of merger and acquisitions were worth more than $1 billion or approximately 53.5% of total transactions (see Sikora, 1997). Merger Acquisitions in 1990s Year Number of Deals Value ($ Billions) 1980 1558 34.8 1981 2328 69.5 1982 2299 60.7 1983 2395 52.7 1984 3176 126.1 1985 3490 146.1 1986 2523 220.8 1987 2517 196.5 1988 3011 291.3 1989 3825 325.1 1990 4312 206.8 1991 3580 143.1 1992 3752 125.3 1993 4148 177.3 1994 4962 276.5 1995 6209 375.0 1996 6828 550.7 Table 3.2 Merger and Acquisitions in 1990s Data Source: (www.mergerstat.com) The era of 90s was said to the decade of Consolidation; which means combination of operating and management resources between two companies as well as their stocks, assets and liabilities (see Lipin, 1997). Furthermore, in 1990s, stable economic environment, relax antitrust laws, stock markets favourable conditions and low cost of capital were the catalyst of merger and acquisition trends. However, still many firms failed to create shareholder value and according to study by Mercer Management Consulting Inc. (1997) 48 percent of mergers failed to generate shareholder value in 90s comparative to 57 percent failure of 1980s (p.39, cited in Smith and Hershman, 1997). Nonetheless, the firms in 90s believed that larger pools of assets are essential either to survive or to grow but the question remains that how to discover ways to create value for portfolio of firms businesses? (see Goold and Luchas, 1993). To resolve this anomaly, three possible explanations have been identified: Firstly, as shown by Porter (1985) that diversification should be limited to companies which have synergy potential and without synergy a diversified business is nothing more than mutual fund. He also suggested that synergies can be attained when the portfolio of businesses create values more than sum of its individual components. Besides, the notion of synergy should be based on economies of scale and cost saving strategies (see Porter, 1985). However, in practice it has been found by studies such as Chatterjee (1992) that gaining synergy is not an easy task and most acquisitions and merger gains arise from either disposals of assets or from restructuring rather than synergistic benefits. It seems that synergy was a primary rationale for merger and acquisitions in the era but remains anomaly from value creation prospective as discussed by Goold and Luchs (1993). Secondly, the corporate strategy of the firms should focus on exploiting core competencies. For instance, Prahalad and Hamel (1989) suggested that the corporate portfolio should be based on technological competencies instead of portfolio of businesses. Similarly, Itami (1989) argued that invisible assets like reputation, brand names or customers list are the most valuable source for sustaining competitive advantage and could be used to create value by exploiting competitive opportunities. Furthermore, other competencies such as technology or managerial expertise can also be used to enhance the performance of business portfolio (see Haspeslagh and Jemison, 1991). However, this approach also has some drawbacks; for example, Goold and Luchs, pointed out that it can be difficult to assess the contribution of investment in building the competencies of a business especially when the investment is in new business area. Thirdly, the best way to create value via successful diversification is to build a portfolio of businesses, which fits with the managers logic and their management style (see Parahalad and Bettis, 1986). If conglomerates diversification is based on business with similar strategic logic then its possible to add value to business by adopting a common approach across all the business units. For instance Goold and Luchs (1993) exposed that sharing the skills or activities across organization can help corporate management to realize synergies. Moreover, Goold and Campbell (1987) found the evidence that top executives also find it difficult to deal with a wide range of styles and approaches. Review of Major Areas in MA This section presents the literature review of major areas focused by academics in merger and acquisition field. Consequently following five sub-sections have been established to review the academic literature: Performance Success in Merger and Acquisitions People in Merger and Acquisitions International Prospects of Merger and Acquisitions Best Practices in Merger and Acquisitions Valuation Issues in Merger and Acquisitions The measurement of success in merger and acquisition activities is mainly through quantitative research and is subject to various studies such as Gosh (2001); Healy et al (1992), in the field of finance or economics and also other directly related fields. People are normally unobserved in merger and acquisitions, however extensive studies like Bliss and Rosen (2001), addressed issues from ethical and organizational learning to more in depth personal perspective. Similarly, increasing trend of international trade and globalization attracted the attention of many researchers, for instance Rossi and Volpin (2004). The valuation of the companies is often overlooking in the field of merger and acquisitions. However, it is a very critical part of acquisition process and could be very helpful not only in the pre-acquisition stage but also during the acquisition process as well as at post-acquisition stage (see Becher, 2001). Finally, the best practices research in the field of merger and acquisition is usually done in the form of case studies but the quality and intensity of these studies vary widely (see Marks and Mirvis, 2001). Performance and Success in MA As stated before companies often engaged in the series of acquisitions and merger activities and early studies such as Barney (1988), tend to show that related acquisitions performed better than other acquisition transactions. However, relatedness itself does not create value for acquiring companies but synergy is the vital factor that helps companies to generate abnormal returns from acquisition programs. For example, Barney (1988) showed that synergistic cash flow stemming from relatedness, which is unique and private creates abnormal returns for shareholders of acquiring firm. However, later studies such as Hayward (2002), suggested that different level of relatedness results in various degree of success and moderately similar companies tend to be more successful than the companies that are highly similar or dissimilar in business or size to one another. He further concluded that if a firm experienced small losses in past acquisition in contrast to high losses or high gains then it has better chances of success in prospective acquisition. In addition, the timing of acquisition plays a vital role in success of the transaction and should not be too close or far-away from central acquisition (see Hayward, 2002). Similarly, Brown and Eisenhard (1997) argued that companies benefit differently depending upon their experimenting and timing of the merger and acquisition activities. Moreover, when the acquiring company has some inimitable resources then it can create value by utilizing these resources in targets company as suggested by Capron and Pistre (2000). However, they also added that if the source of synergies is recognized in target firm than market associate expected gains to target firm due to the competition among potential bidders. Consequently, this competition raises the price of target firm and would create value for shareholders of the target firm but also lead to under performance of acquirer. Nevertheless, performance success through merger and acquisitions is still controversial among academics as pointed out by Cording et al (2002). To resolve the issue Chatterjee (1992) measured the cumulative average of abnormal returns (CAAR) during the period of 11 months before the tender offer until 60 months after the tender offer. After studying the sample of 577 tender offers between the periods of 1963 to 1986; he suggested that net gain arises for the economy from these transactions but it does not necessarily create gains for everyone involved in merger and acquisition. More specifically, CAAR after 60 months were observed to be negative for unsuccessful bidders, zero for successful bidder and positive for target company. Furthermore, Chatterjee (1992) found much higher positive CAAR for restructured target companies in contrast to non-restructured targets. Certain studies view the merger and acquisition transactions from a different prospective. For example, Golbe and White (1993) proved in their study that macroeconomic environments influence the merger activities and the number of merger transactions increases in time of economic expansion comparative to decrease in programme at the time of economic down turn.Similarly, Amburgey and Miner (1992) studied the effects of companies momentum on merger activities and suggested that managers follow the past patterns. The academics such as Capron (1999), also attempted to assess the performance of the merger and acquisition activities by conducting the survey of prime stakeholders in merger activities. He further concluded that the available financial data is too gross to allow the separation between the types of pure value-creating mechanism. Moreover, he also argued that more often the objective of the companies is to retain the top management team of the targets firm, whether its a conglomerate or related merger. International Prospects of MA The emergence of globalisation and increasing trends in international trade fasten the number of local as well as cross-border acquisitions and merger activities. For instance, the cross-border acquisition activities in United States increased to 19% in 1999 from 6% in 1985 (see Seth et al, 2001). According to the study of Seth et al (2001), the evidence suggests that there are three motives for cross-border acquisitions such as synergy seeking, managerilism and managerial hubris. Moreover, the research tends to show that there is a positive relationship between the level of value creation and reverse internalization, asset sharing, financial sharing and market seeking ( as discussed by Seth et al, 2001). In addition, there seems to be association between value creation and governance system of bidders country. For instance, Seth et al (2001) argued that bidding companies from group-oriented governance system like Japan and Germany appear to be engaged in acquisitions and merger activities with higher level of value creation in contrast to bidding firms from market oriented governance system such as United Kingdom. Further enhancement of research in the area of cross-border merger and acquisition suggests that experience in merger and acquisition activities can be utilized to create value in another country. For example, Gugler et al (2003) compared the data of 15 years and proved that post merger patterns are similar across different countries. Moreover, their evidence also signifies that there are no major differences between domestic and cross-border mergers as well as manufacturing and service sectors around the world. With the passage of time and in the era of globalization the merger and acquisitions activities are increasing especially in emerging economies. The multinational companies often use the tools of acquisition and mergers to penetrate in new markets and economies particularly in emerging countries such as Central and Eastern Europe (see Milman, 1999). However, in many countries MNC mergers and acquisitions are seen as threats by government agencies, privatized companies and state enterprises. Therefore, in order to develop a successful alliance the acquisition or merger program should be designed in such as way that creates value for companies as well as the host-country governments (see Rondinelli and Black, 2000). Lastly, yet the number of merger and acquisitions across border appears to be increasing but it seems difficult to integrate and manage the successful processes. Hence, Inkpen et al (2000) suggested that the companies should critically evaluate the areas of decision making, communication, networking and socialisation, communication and the structure of authority and responsibility before involving in the process of MA. People in MA Only looking to financial aspects might limit the understanding about the question why MA activities are so widely used by companies as a tool to grow. Hence, another area focused by academics, such as Karitzki and Brink (2003), is related to merger and acquisitions and people. Generally, one of the motives for merger activities is to follow the cost-cutting strategies including synergy and targets customers. Often, the employees are laid off in the process of merger and acquisitions and consequently this creates new but conflicting networks of relationships in new companies as suggested by Vermeulen and Barkema (2001). Thus, it affects the success and results in under-performance of merger and acquisition programmes. Therefore, considering the affects of MA on employee or managers of the potential target firms are of similar importance as financial issues. Similarly, the research in the area of executive compensation pointed out that prior to acquisition or merger, management of acquiring company receive significant higher packages comparative to the executives of target firms (see Lynch and Perry, 2002). Hence, these issues can lead to turnover and morale issues that ultimately affect the success of anticipated integration from MA. Furthermore, in extreme circumstances, issues like these emerging from dissimilarities create hurdles to achieve the objective of the original merger and acquisitions. Thus, reconciling the differences is one of the major issues faced by the combined company to create value (as discussed in Lynch and Perry, 2002). Moreover, successful merger or acquisition depends upon the people in both target and acquiring firms. The attitude and opinion of the employees regarding acquisition or merger can change over the time. Schweiger and DeNisi (1991) conducted the survey of employees and compared the attitudes in pre-acquisition and post-acquisition period. Their results show that attitudes of the employees three months after the announcement of merger changed significantly and turn towards continual negative consequences (see Schweiger and DeNisi, 1991). Likewise, Covin et al (1996) studied the attitude of 2845 employees from a large manufacturing concern in post merger period. The results show significant differences between the target firm and acquiring companys employees in satisfaction with merger. The employees of acquired company faced high level of dissatisfaction and ultimately felt more stress due to changes introduced after merger. In addition, this stress is aggravated due to the direct competition between target firm and acquiring company. Furthermore, Covin et al (1996) pointed out that factors such as loss of power and status, changes in salary or benefits and lack of managerial direction result in high level of stress and dissatisfaction from merger activities. Hence, it has been suggested that in addition to financial aspects these types of issues should not be overlooked in order to create value and to develop a successful merger and acquisition programme (see Karitzki and Brink, 2003). Best Practices in MA It is often suggested that acquisitions are predominantly unsuccessful and numerous studies like Aiello and Watkins (2000), confirmed this fact. However, generally the conditions and environment is relevant before judging the results. Furthermore, there is lack of research in answering the question; what would happen if both the companies continued in their own separate way. Therefore, estimating the successfulness of merger or acquisition is a tricky anomaly (as discussed in Chaudhuri and Tabrizi, 1999). Moreover, the unsuccessful MA activities are more highlighted in contrast to successful programmes. Ed Libby, the chairman and CEO of AllState stated that when MAs fails they draw more notice despite the fact that lot of other projects fails in business but no one can see them because they remain within internal walls of the companies (cited in Cary, 2000). As stated earlier, there is no one strategy that fits all kinds of merger and acquisition activities, however systematic approaches such as suggested by Jan Leschly, can help companies to develop a successful plan. Jan Leschly, retired CEO of SmithKline Beecham suggested that they put their people on the boards of different companies by investing small amounts. Once the companies get going then they decide whether to buy it completely or not (cited in Cary, 2000). Likewise, understanding the various components of merger process is very vital to develop a successful merger or acquisition deal. However, it is very hard to enumerate the components especially when these are integrated with each other. According to Marks and Mirvis (2001), the successfulness of merger and acquisition is highly depended on following factors: Acquisition Plan Implementation of this plan Post-acquisition cooperation between firms after acquisition Moreover, they collected a number of factors that were mentioned in previous research such as strategic objective, clear selection, search and selection process etc. They also argued that pre-acquisition planning is very important for successful merger and acquisition plan and more prepared the people will more synergies in a combination will result (see Marks and Mirvis, 2001). Similarly, Aiello and Watkins (2000) suggested that every MA deal pass through following five stages: Screening potential deal Reaching initial agreement Conducting due diligence Setting final terms Achieving closure They suggested that splitting the merger or acquisition deal in above mentioned stages and approaching them systematically can help companies to create value through business combination (see Aiello and Watkins, 2000). However, sometimes the reasons for MA failure could be different from the reasons of other MA success. Gadish et al (2001) studied the causes of merger and acquisition failure and suggested that poor strategic rationale, sever cultural mismatch, overpayment for acquisition, inadequate integration planning and execution, setting rational and problems in executive leadership and strategic communication are the main factors that lead to the under-performance and sometime failure of any merger or acquisition deal. Valuations Issues in MA The last area of MA research focused by academics are the valuation of the companies involved in deal. There are several methodologies such as discounted cash flows or P/E multipliers, used by analyst to value the company. However, Hall (2003) suggested three main methods to estimate the value of business. These are comparable companies method, discounted future earning method or asset model, which can be use to appraise the value of company. However, application of these models requires careful judgement of analyst and may not be appropriate to apply in all circumstances. For instance, in current economic turmoil application of comparable companies model on traded firms can skew the valuation of business (see Hall, 2003). Moreover, additional premium price needs to be paid for most of the merger and acquisition deals. The valuation of the business could be relatively simple if it is stand alone but additional value created due to synergies and closing acquisition cost integrated in the process construct further challenges in estimation (see Gadish et al, 2001). However, there is range of sophisticated techniques available to help in estimation and often the final price is based on weighted average of number of valuations as suggested by Eccles et al, (1999). Evidence of Post-Acquisition Performance and Value Creation Many studies such as Dodd (1980) and Firth (1980), have attempted to identify the value creation of corporate acquisitions by examining the stock returns of the acquiring companies. However, empirical evidence suggests mixed results in terms of post acquisitions returns to shareholder of the acquiring firms. Some studies found negative returns to the acquirers (see Malatesta, 1983; Eger, 1983) in contrast to other research, which reported significant abnormal returns for the shareholder of acquiring companies (see Chung and Weston, 1982; Asquith et al, 1983). Particularly the studies of long run performance of acquiring firms provided the evidence of significant abnormal return over the period of one to three years after post acquisition (see Langetieg, 1978). However, contrary to that Agrawal et al (1992) reported the 10 percent loss to acquiring firms in post acquisition period of five years. The previous research mainly focused to investigate the relationship between types of acquisitions like vertical integration, unrelated acquisitions and related integrations but has not concentrated on the reasons of success. Moreover, many academics have been attracted to the paradigm of corporate acquisition and value creation; however, the results of studies of unrelated and related diversification were mixed (see Lecraw, 1984). For instance, Rumelt (1982) proved that higher profitability is associated with related acquisition comparative to unrelated acquisitions. Similar results has been reported by Christensen and Montgomery (1981) and Varadarajan and Ramanujam (1987). However, other research like Michel and Shaked (1984) found the evidence that unrelated acquisition outperformed the related acquisition. Likewise, Weston et al (1972) also concluded that unrelated acquisitions performed better than related acquisitions. Furthermore, Luffman and Reed (1984) support this notion by studying the unrelated and related acquisitions activities and reported that firms engaged in unrelated acquisition are in better position to create value in contrast to firms involved in related acquisitions. However, there are some studies such as Grinyer et al, (1990), which did not find any significant difference among various types of acquisition and merger strategies. In fact, most research was unable to find the exact forces which drive the successful corporate acquisitions modes, as stated earlier; therefore it is difficult to identify the determinants of successful acquisition process. More specifically, empirical evidence, for instance Chattterjee (1986) suggests that horizontal acquisitions outperformed the vertical acquisitions and conglomerates and associated with higher synergies. However, some studies like Lubatkin (1983) proved that vertical acquisitions and conglomerates provided superior performance than horizontal acquisitions. However, to sum up the previous studies Loughran and Vijh (1997) suggested three typical results from various research studies. Firstly, the stakeholders of target firm gained high abnormal returns from acquisitions activities. Secondly, the shareholders of acquiring firms does not gain abnormal returns or very little from tender offers. Finally, the acquiring companys shareholders gained negative abnormal returns from the merger activities (see Bradley et al, 1983; Kummer and Hoffmeister, 1978; Jensen and Ruback, 1983). In general, evidence from academic research shows that acquisitions and mergers do not create value instead results of acquisitions and mergers are associated with negative returns rather than positive as suggested by Ruback (1988). Furthermore, these negative abnormal returns are inconsistent with the hypothesis of market efficiency and tend to show that market participant overestimates the anticipated efficiency gains from takeover transactions (see Jensen and Ruback, 1983). In addition, Agrawal et al (1992) suggested three important implications of underperformance findings. Firstly, the hypothesis of capital market efficiency is a very important concept in corporate finance and systematic poor performance from post-merger transaction is inconsistent with this hypothesis. Secondly, they argued that most performance research examines the returns around announcement dates by implicitly assuming that markets are efficient and therefore ignore the examination of post announcement returns. Hence they noted that market inefficiency findings on post announcement basis could be calls into question. Finally, the findings of underperformance might show poor accounting performance of firms after the merger or acquisitio n transaction. However, there are studies such as Healy et al (1992), which provided opposite results. Likewise the study by Mercer Management Consulting found that since mid-80s, 57 percent of merger and acquisitions deals, which worth $500 million or more generated poor results over the period of three years after the acquisition transaction comparative to industry average. Further findings of the study were that during 1990s, the success rate of the acquisition transaction was barely 50 percent (p.39, cited in Smith and Hershman, 1997). Finally, we can assert that acquiring firms underperformed market after the acquisition, as suggested by most research such as Agrawal et al (1992) examined the post merger performance of companies and reported that acquiring companies underperformed by 10% on average in post-acquisition period over the five years. However, they also argued that it is still an unsettled issue in finance literature and it depends upon how the performance is measured.

Data Analysis On Data Analytics - 1270 Words

Problem Area An important area for growth in the health sector over the past few decades has been the adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) aimed at improving patient outcomes and enhancing hospital efficiency. Historically, hospital data has been stored in hard copy format, however, with EHRs the availability data from various sources becomes widely available. And in this digital age, data is integral to our healthcare as it likely holds the promise of supporting a wide range of medical and healthcare functions. This of course identifies the need to effectively understanding and build knowledge around data analytic techniques to transform healthcare data into meaningful outcomes. There is an abundance of data, yet, the†¦show more content†¦This research design is appropriate because the responses of the participants and observation will lead to assessing the need and usefulness of data analytical capabilities in hospital settings. Sampling and Participants A purposeful sample will be selected for this study due participant’s expertise in their respective fields. This will provide more meaningful data relevant for this research. Participants recruited will all be within the same hospital. Recruiting will start with an email sent to prospective department managers asking if they would be interested in participating in a research study regarding the data analytics and how it relates to their departmental day-to-day activities. Departments that agree to participate will be contacted and a convenient time for initial interviews will be set-up. Following the interview, department workflow observations and document analysis will be carried out at the convenience of the departments This being a qualitative study, a small and selective sample of 15 departments will be selected due to the depth of the research. The following inclusion and exclusion criteria will be used to acquire the purposeful sample. 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What is a research hypothesis Free Essays

What is a research hypothesis? Define directional, nondirectional, and statistical/null hypothesis statements. A research hypothesis is a statement about two variables, independent and dependent, and their relationship with an expected outcome based on the research question which, if directional, will state the expected direction of the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. If the research hypothesis is nondirectional it will not state the expected direction within the relationship of the variables but that a relationship exists. We will write a custom essay sample on What is a research hypothesis or any similar topic only for you Order Now The statistical hypothesis or null hypothesis states there is no relationship between the independent and dependent variables and failure to reject the null hypothesis will support the research hypothesis. (LoBiondo-Wood Haber, 2006) Define the following: independent variable, dependent variable (note that the dependent variable is of primary interest to the researcher). The independent variable is manipulated in experimental research studies and assumed to occur naturally in nonexperimental studies to measure or observe the effect on the dependent variable. The dependent variable is not changed or manipulated and is the variable that is studied by changes in the independent variable. The dependent variable is what the researcher is interested in explaining, understanding, or predicting. (LoBiondo-Wood Haber, 2006) Identify the independent and dependent variable in the following statement: Women who attend childbirth classes will be less likely to use pain medication than women who do not attend childbirth classes. The dependent variable is pain medicine, which women would take less of if independent variable, childbirth classes, is present. In your own words, explain the interrelationships between a research question, literature review, theoretical framework, and hypothesis. The research question must be measurable, show relationship between variables ith a stated population, which will guide the literature review. The literature review is focused on research questions, or guided by the research questions, along with the theoretical framework, which also guides the research in what will be measured or compared in the research question, together they all form the hypothesis. The research hypothesis will be guided by the literature review, research question, and theoretical framework to give an answer to the research question that can be validated. Know that the main purpose of literature review is to gain insight and understanding of research that has been done related to a particular area of topic of interest. Define and differentiate between primary and secondary sources. Primary sources are from the person who conducted studies, developed the theory, or prepared the discussion on a concept or topic. They are essential in literature review; most are published but some may not be. Secondary sources or used sometimes but should be limited in literature review. They are from someone other than the original author. The work is usually a critique or review of the work and may or may not be published. (LoBiondo-Wood Haber, 2006) What does it mean if a journal is refereed or peer-reviewed? A refereed journal has external and internal reviewers or editors who are experts in various fields to study or judge the article or manuscript before publication which will enhance its credibility. A peer-reviewed article or manuscript is evaluated by fellow specialists of research that has been done to assess its correctness for publication or further development. How to cite What is a research hypothesis, Essay examples

Reaction Paper on the Rise and Fall of Enron.Doc Uploaded Essay Example

Reaction Paper on the Rise and Fall of Enron.Doc Uploaded Essay Inc.Group 10 November 19, 2010 Members:AC 516 8:30-10:30 Alfie Mae ManaulSir Sevilla John Vershir Lumacang Agapito Yang The Rise and Fall of Enron As one of the world’s leading electricity, natural gas, communications and pulp and paper companies with claimed revenues of nearly $101 billion in the year 2000, Enron should have not ignored the importance of transparency which gives assurance. Transparency is defined as the quality or state of being understood and candid. Every investor wishes that he will be able to get better and transparent information about the financial data of the company. In fact, it is the quality of the report which helps investors in making certain investment decision. However, to keep its financial statements and company’s performance impressive in the eyes of its investors and other users, Enron had continuously reported income, cash flow up, inflated asset values and understated its liabilities. Enron is more on in the line of environment-related course of business. Personally, it was an ineffective decision for Enron to have signed a 20-year agreement with Blockbuster Video for it to introduce on-demand entertainment to various United States cities. For sure, Blockbuster Video had the knowledge on the operation yet for Enron to have that deal is just out of its scope and simply, too risky. Although, it had recognized estimated profits of more than $110 million from the deal, still, analysts had questioned the technical viability and market demand of its service. Enron continued to recognize future profits, even though the deal resulted in a loss. We will write a custom essay sample on Reaction Paper on the Rise and Fall of Enron.Doc Uploaded specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Reaction Paper on the Rise and Fall of Enron.Doc Uploaded specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Reaction Paper on the Rise and Fall of Enron.Doc Uploaded specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer They tried to cover up their own failures. With Enron’s adoptability on the so-called â€Å"gain-on-sale† accounting method which allows the company to estimate the future profitability of a trade made today and book a profit today based on the present value of those estimated future profits, it had tempted the management to aggressively make excessive assumptions. It was a mistake for Enron to sell their own company stocks while preventing most of its employees from selling theirs. This act would result to having a new management which means new leadership and control. Enron as well didn’t pay attention to its employee. They didn’t treat such as a responsibility. In economics, too much of something is bad. Enron was constantly focusing on its stock price. It had recorded accounting results as soon as possible just to keep up with the companys stock price which had helped ensure deal-makers and executives, for them, to receive large cash bonuses and stock options. It was a mistake for Enron to continuously think of protecting their company’s reputation and the compensation although their business began to perform poorly. Conflict of interest is one of which that could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other. Who would not love money? Of course, everyone does. Enrons auditor firm, Arthur Andersen, was accused of applying reckless standards in their audits because of a conflict of interest over the significant consulting fees generated by Enron. The auditors methods were questioned as either being completed solely to receive its annual fees or for their lack of expertise in properly reviewing Enrons revenue recognition, special entities, derivatives, and other accounting practices. Due to the fall of Enron, it had brought into question the accounting practices and activities of many corporations throughout the United States and became a factor in the creation of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002. Thus, government regulations and rules need to be updated for the new economy. Character is destiny. As what Andre Maurois had said, â€Å"If you create a habit, you create a character. If you create a character, you create a destiny. † Therefore, in business, there shall be no room for arrogance.