Social Concerns in the Novel “The Kite Runner”

In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, there are plenty of examples that prove this to be correct, walking through the life as an upper or lower class citizen, dealing with tough situations. As upper class citizens, it is much easier to receive a proper education due to the fact that it isn’t necessary for one to get an occupation to help support their family because no additional support is needed. Since upper class citizens can have the luxury of being able to read and write, they are more likely to become successful, for example,Amir, a young boy who is born into the wealth of his father, Baba, talks about how he is using his education to excel in language arts, â€Å"In school, we used to play a game called Sherjangi, or â€Å"Battle of the Poems. † The Farsi teacher moderated it and it went something like this: You recited a verse from a poem and your opponent had sixty seconds to reply with a verse that began with the same letter that ended with yours. Everyone in my class wanted me on their team, because by the time I was eleven, I could recite dozens of erses†¦One time, I took on the whole class and won† (17). This example shows how Amir has the advantage over most kids, who aren’t as fortunate to receive an education and is able to excel by becoming one of the most prominent students in poetry of his class. It also shows that Amir has a good chance of being a success by using this education to advance him for when he’s older. Rahim Khan, Baba’s best friend, also notices that Amir is becoming more knowledgeable in language arts when he reads Amir’s first story, â€Å"I enjoyed your story very much.Mashallah, God as granted you a special talent. It is now your duty to hone that talent, because a person who wastes his God-given talents is a donkey. You have written your story with sound grammar and interesting style. But the most impressive thing about your story is that it has irony. You ma y not even know what that word means. But you will someday. It is something that some writers reach for their entire careers and never attain. You have achieved it in your first story† (28). This again further displays that because Amir is able to receive a good ducation, he is able to write impressively. Not only does this example show that he is a good student, but it also shows that if one is given the chance to be educated and takes advantage of it they can become successful. People in the upper class have the opportunity to gain an education because they have the wealth to be able to do so, however people in the lower class aren’t as fortunate. People who are in the lower class are forced to work hard for what they have because, they haven’t been blessed with the luxury of being born into a wealthy family.This is true for Hassan, Ali’s friend and servant, who must stay with his father and work at Ali’s home to earn a living and isn’t abl e to educate himself by going to school, however Hassan learns to appreciate life and everything that is given to him, for example, Amir describes a normal day for Hassan and himself, â€Å"During the school year, we had a daily routine. By the time I dragged myself out of bed and lumbered to the bathroom, Hassan had already washed up, prayed the morning namaz with Ali, and prepared my breakfast.While I ate and complained about homework, Hassan made my bed, polished my shoes, ironed my outfit for the day, packed my books and pencils. I’d hear him singing to himself in the foyer as he ironed, singing old Hazara songs in his nasal voice. Then, Baba and I drove off in his black Ford Mustang† (23). This excerpt shows very wonderfully, how Hassan is a hard working young boy, in the lower class, who appreciates things and makes the best of his situation, he is awake bright and early, full of energy, singing and enjoying the day he has before him, happy to be alive.It also sh ows the fact that people in the lower class are able to enjoy the little things in life much more than that of the upper class, because they have to work hard and appreciate the things they work hard for. However people in the upper class may become snobby and take for granted the things that they have, for instance, when Amir is reading to Hassan, and Hassan stops him to ask a question, â€Å"what does that word mean? ‘which one? ’ ‘imbecile’ ‘you don’t know what it means’ I said, grinning. ‘Nay, Amir agha. ’ ‘But it’s such a common word! ’ ‘Still, I don’t know it. ‘Well everyone in my school knows what it means’, I said. ‘Let’s see. ‘Imbecile. ’ It means smart, intelligent. I’ll use it in a sentence for you. ‘When it comes to words, Hassan is an imbecile’(25). This shows that Amir doesn’t appreciate the fact that he is able to be so educated and demeans Hassan for not being able to have an education. However, Hassan shows that he is eager to learn more and appreciates the stories that Amir reads to him and wants to have the full understanding of the story, thus showing that people of the lower class usually show reater appreciation for what they have and earn. Some may like to think that living life prosperously is always a good thing, and to most it is a very positive experience because it represents hard work that one has done in order to earn that rich lifestyle, but to others who come into prosperity without earning it find it hard to deal with the struggles one finds in life. People, such as Baba, know what hard work is and are generous to others who are less fortunate because they know what its like to work hard to become successful, for example, Rahim Khan refers to Baba’s enerosity when speaking with Amir,†I think that everything he did, feeding the poor, giving money to friends in need, it was all a way of redeeming himself. And that, I believe, is what true redemption is, Amir Jan† (302). This shows how Baba, although wealthy, is very caring and shows a true commitment to helping others who need it. It also displays the character that Baba has been instilled with through life experiences, such as trials and tribulations, which help him to appreciate what he has earned. However to others, such as Amir, who is born into prosperity, don’t know the meaning of hard ork or how to deal with problems they are faced with, for instance when Baba is discussing his son’s inability to deal with problems, such as bullies, with Rahim Khan he says, â€Å"Self-defense has nothing to do with meanness. You know what always happens when the neighborhood boys tease him? Hassan steps in and fends them off. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. And when they come home I say to him, ‘how did Hassan get that scrape on his face? ’ And he says, †˜he fell down. ’ I’m telling you, Rahim, there is something missing in that boy† (20). This is a good example of how Amir is unable to esolve matters on his own while Hassan is able to deal with situations and predicaments because of his tough upbringing. It also shows that Amir is incapable of working with conflicts because he has always been protected and dependant on others, unlike Hassan who hasn’t had that luxury of having things handed to him and has always fought for everything he has. In closing, the lifestyle of the upper class can be very fulfilling if the hard work that goes into it is understood, however if it isn’t and one becomes spoiled, it can be detrimental to one’s life and personality.

Philosophy of Life Essay

The hardest part of any journey is the first step. Human life would be so much easier if we were born into it with a roadmap and a flashlight some say we actually were, but we forgot where we put them. Nonetheless, part of life is clearing your own path, making your own map, finding life’s meanings, and defining your philosophy or world view, the next hardest part of the journey, once you’ve found your truth, is living it every day walking your talk. I believe we are each here for a purpose and everything happens for a reason. We chose who we are physically, when and where we were born, and the life circumstances presented to us. Why nobody really knows. There are many possibilities. To learn lessons, like a school to be part of the overall evolution of human consciousness , to atone for karma, make up for errors and omissions in past lives, to play a role in a universal game or dramatic production, to satisfy spiritual cravings for the sensual, tactile pleasures of human life. I even read/heard someplace that Earth is the penal colony of the Universe . â€Å"Hell on Earth,† the place where sinners do badders have to work out their sentences for their evil deeds. I also heard recently that human life on earth is like a vacation: leave home, travel to wonderful new places, experience the joy and awe, then return home. I must admit that at times it feels like the vacation from hell car gets a flat tire or two it pours rain every day at the beach or worse, while camping intestinal illness on a cruise ship. Could be any of these things, could be all. I tend to lean toward the evolving karmic classroom approach. But the ultimate truth is that we are born to die. Our physical human lives are temporary, blips on the screen, a dash between the date of birth and the date of death on your tombstone. But while we are here, anything can occur, there are no accidents, nothing is impossible, miracles happen.

StrategicManagement Analysis of The Package Holiday Company Thomas Assignment

StrategicManagement Analysis of The Package Holiday Company Thomas Cook - Assignment Example Thomas Cook is an international operator of tours. The company stands out because of the participation of vacationers and tourists in order to ensure the vision of the company â€Å"The Whole World of Travel†. A publicist of English origin named Thomas Cook commenced the business operations back in the year 1841. The company accomplished growth at a quite higher rate in the industry of tourism through continued strategies of business. Strategies of group tourism and package tours are implemented by the company to make certain soaring share in the market and growth. The company with employee strength of 23,300 and sales of â‚ ¬7.7 billion is counted in the best three companies of travel services all over the globe and is the second best travel company in Europe (SAP, n.d.). The growth of the industry of package holiday has been quite rapid. The earlier decade has given immense chance to a lot of people to visit, travel and avail holidays at such places that were formerly accessible only by the privileged and affluent. The industry of package holiday has become an industry of multi-million pound that is operated by handful big players and numerous smaller ones. The holiday packages are structured by ‘tour operators’ who ‘bundle together’ the assorted elements of a holiday into a ‘package’. The packages are available directly as well as through travel agents as well. The industry can be aptly expressed as oligopolistic meaning ‘competition among the few. ... The industry can be aptly expressed as oligopolistic meaning ‘competition among the few’ (High Beam Research, 2011). There are essentially four companies in the industry of package holiday in the UK that carry over a million people every year (High Beam Research, 2011). The segmentation of the package holiday industry of the UK is shown in the model below: Category %Population Groups Wealthy Achievers 25.1 1. Wealthy Executives 2. Affluent Greys 3. Flourishing Families Urban Prosperity 10.7 1. Prosperous Professionals 2. Educated Urbanites 3. Aspiring Singles Comfortably Off 26.6 1. Starting Out 2. Secure Families 3. Settled Suburbia 4. Prudent Pensioners Moderate Means 14.5 1. Asian Communities 2. Post Industrial Families 3. Blue Collar Roots Hard Pressed 22.4 1. Struggling Families 2. Burdened Singles 3. High Rise Hardship 4. Inner City Adversity Source: (Williams, 2008) The reason behind choosing the company Thomas Cook is its international popularity. 2. Task A 2.1 P ESTEL Analysis Political Severe laws of immigration and tight security as an outcome of terror attacks If few of the destinations are kept off-limits by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, then the people visiting there will be refused insurance by the travel insurers Political instability affects package holidays Policies of taxation on tourism imposed by other countries affect the industry of package holiday (Scribd, n.d.) Economical A critical role is played by the exchange rates in the trade of package holiday. Greater stability in the exchange rates would have a constructive impact on the package holidays Globalisation has a good impact on package holiday as more companies are entering new markets Recession affects the industry of package holiday

History and Political Science; A Response to Historical Cases Essay

History and Political Science; A Response to Historical Cases - Essay Example Of particular interest is to understand the implications of the Pericles’ oration (Thucydides 34) with respect to what is known of Athens. In evaluating Pericles’ speech, it is imperative to decipher the underpinning points in the speech, as depicted by Thucydides (pp 34-46). First, Pericles begins by acknowledging the need to hold ceremonies for those who dead for the country. He proceeds to assert that all that had happened was necessary. He was in line with the law, as well as the democracy requirements. In elucidating his point, he pays tribute to the ancestors, acknowledging them for creating a worth-celebrating history for the Athenians. He cites how the empire and its possession would have been without the sacrifice of the ancestors and that it was only justified for him to uphold the legacy. Pericles presents Athens as exceptional, in terms of its laws, justice, social equality, mobility and inclusivity of migrants, and that everyone had an equal opportunity to serve the nation. The aspect of Athens to offer social refreshment, such as games is not also overlooked. He affirms Athenian determination to shun all the challenges, as well as respecting the neighbors. He eventually justifies the point that the fallen men should not be the cause of any consolation. Instead, such a point brings comfort to the Athenian community. The crucial question is whether Pericles’ insight holds any validity. In particular, does Athens fit into the doctrine of exceptionalism, as presented? Moreover, is Pericles’ point about the fallen justified? In my view, whereas there are certain aspects of exceptionalism that could be justified about the historical Athenian society, others cannot. For instance, it is agreeable that the ancestors had a crucial role in creating history for posterity, considering that imperialism was the order of the time. The affirmation of respect of law and democracy also reflect the historical nature of Athens. This is beca use Athens historical government is widely cited as the mother or even the correlate of the sophisticated and desired contemporary democracy. Indeed, one avenue of viewing at Pericles’ forefather reference could act as a base the role which Athens played in Greek history. Perhaps he was referring to the growth of the government of Athens as well as the role which the forefathers played. Pericles next statement is that the city of Athens was great and served as a symbol of inspiration as the pioneer of true democracy (Halsall 39). Thucydides uses parallelism whereby Pericles talks of Athenian s’ reputation compared to other armed forces, as well as the Athenian self belief. However, the theme of imperialism cannot be left out of his speech. One questions whether this could also be an aspect of exceptionalism. Doesn’t it contravene the affirmation to respect the autonomy of the neighbors? I infer that whereas Pericles stand reflect the interest of the Athenians, i t is advanced on the basis of nationalism, which can be dismissed as a thesis of societal selfishness. Response to part two: Robert, the Monk's account of Pope Urban II's call to crusade During the 11th century, when states like France and Britain had not emerged, Christianity united the states of Europe. All European states took part in religious wars against Muslims in what was known as the Crusades. Both Christians and Muslims committed atrocities against human beings although each side claimed to be fighting for a just course. At the

Environmental Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Environmental Science - Essay Example This essay declares that Environmental science encompasses issues such as climate change, conservation, biodiversity, groundwater and soil contamination, use of natural resources, waste management, sustainable development, air pollution and noise pollution. This essay stresses that despite a greater commitment by the World Government’s to protect public health, forests, and wildlife, policies geared to develop the country's economy have taken precedence in the last 20 years. While industrial development has contributed significantly to economic growth in India, it has done so at a price to the environment. Not only are industrial pollution increasing public health risks, but abatement efforts also are consuming a significant portion of countries gross domestic product. The world environmental situation is likely to be further aggravated by the increasingly rapid, large-scale global extinction of species. It occurred in the 20th century at a rate that was a thousand times higher than the average rate during the preceding 65 million years. This is likely to destabilize various ecosystems including agricultural systems. The variety of life on Earth, its biological diversity is commonly referred to as biodiversity. The number of spec ies of plants, animals, and microorganisms, the enormous diversity of genes in these species, the different ecosystems on the planet, such as deserts, rainforests and coral reefs are all part of a biologically diverse Earth.

Common Assessment Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Common Assessment - Term Paper Example The Financial crisis has severely affected the personnel of the organizations. There have been several instances of employees’ retrenchment, downsizing as well as cutting the workforce to reduce the fixed overheads. This has resulted in the organizations left with only a fewer employees to meet the obligations and this causes the organizations to suffer not only in producing more products but also in producing quality products. (Skipper, 2009, pp.3-5; Basu, n.d, pp.205-207; Shah, 2010) The paper will assess the situation where the executives have been trying to redesign the jobs for employees and thereby facing a loss of employees every time they attempt to change the structure. Boosting Employee moral: An organization should look at effectively protecting the morale of the employee and constantly monitor the employee morale because the organizations have to realize at first the growth, the productivity of the organization rest mainly on the employees’ expertise. So the organization must be clear and lucid to the point of the scope of each and every employee. Giving a clear and transparent job specification to each and every employee is highly essential. Proper and effective communication is also highly important as clear communication addresses many complex issues. The employee should be given enough space for expressing ideas in a particular matter the employee is expert. The employee should be given in hand training for the particular job and should be given adequate feedback for their improvement such that the employee can get accustomed to the job requirement as needed by the employer. (Bruce, 2002, pp.69-74; Martocchio, 2004, pp.163-164) Designing crisis management: During the times of recession, the executives have been involved in restructuring the jobs, the situation during the crisis have gone to such extent that the employees working in a particular domain had to work on other domains simultaneously. There have been several instances wh en an employee working in a higher designation has to work for much lower designation profiles which have acted to a huge impediment to the morale up gradation of the employee. During the crisis period the situation has gone to such a level that in an IT organizations employees working as software developers for the organization even had to do marketing jobs which is a completely different profile for those employees. Moreover, employees working in higher designations to the level of floor managers or middle level managers in an organizational structure had to do works like depositing funds or withdrawal of funds from banks which are simply clerical jobs. So in different high esteemed organizations employees of higher repute and working in much senior positions had to do simple clerical jobs mainly to make up for the jobs of the employees who have been retrenched during the crisis. This has caused a huge moral degradation of the employees. On the other hand this has severely increas ed the work load on the employees as they had to take multidimensional roles in their work. This has caused a major setback in the employees’ moral. This has again resulted in employees resigning their positions as not

Evaluating a statement with reference to the traditional concept of Essay

Evaluating a statement with reference to the traditional concept of Domicile in accordance with the English Law - Essay Example Usually, the criteria used for the identification of domicile are differentiated in countries around the world – in most cases the system of law adopted by a specific country is used to decide on the characteristics of domicile in the above country. It should be noted that misunderstanding is often caused because of the co-existence of other terms, like residence, that also refer to the relation of a person to a specific geographical place. Because of the value of domicile in determining the rights and the obligations of people in different social and political activities, a series of rules has been introduced describing the criteria under which a person’s domicile is identified; however, the effectiveness of these rules has been strongly criticized. The specific problem – the level of accuracy and effectiveness of the rules used for identifying a person’s domicile – is examined in this paper; it has been proved that the rules adopted for the identi fication of domicile had to be analytical and detailed – in order to respond to the needs of all related human activities but also to ensure the protection of social and political rights; however, in the long term the above characteristic of these rules had become a major disadvantage leading to the decrease of their effectiveness. At a next level, the limitation of the effectiveness of rules of domicile has been a phenomenon irrelevant with the characteristics of the system of law developed in a particular country; however, current paper refers especially to the rules of domicile developed in the English law emphasizing on the lack of effectiveness of these rules as a result of the use of complex and technical terms – used primarily for ensuring the adaptability of these rules to current social conditions, a target that was never achieved as explained below. In English law,

Corporate Environmental Reporting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Corporate Environmental Reporting - Essay Example The stakeholders have been under utter confusion with regard to the information contained in the reports. Naturally, an expectation gap exists between the users (stakeholders) and preparers of environmental reports. At this juncture, a study is relevant as to examine whether there is any such expectation gap is present or not. The present study, therefore, attempts to examine the difference in the perception of preparers and users of environmental reports in the U.K. The study is carried out as an exploratory research by suing sample survey. An extensive preliminary research has been undertaken so as to acquire a basic knowledge of the unexplored area. The study heavily relies on primary data and data are collected directly from the respondents using two sets of well structured questionnaire. An interview schedule is also prepared to collect data. The population for the study comprises of two sets of professionals, namely chartered accountants and chief accounting officials of 200 ma nufacturing firms in the U.K. Naturally, the sample size of the survey comes to 400 put together. The data collected are edited, coded and analyzed to arrive at meaningful conclusions and generalizations. Because of the increased emphasis on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) the world over, corporations are obliged to present the information about the fulfillment of their duties towards various stakeholders including society... Corporations across the globe have accepted CSR as an effective tool for sustainable development and high financial performance. To communicate and share the information about what the corporations have done in respect of CSR is made possible through what is popularly known as Environmental Reporting (ER). In a broad sense, environmental reporting is known by various nomenclatures such as Corporate Social Reporting, Triple Bottom Line Reporting etc. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) defines Environmental Reporting as "public reports by companies to provide internal and external stakeholders with a picture of the corporate position and activities on economic, environmental and social dimensions". It is taken as a means to publicly demonstrate organizations' commitment to environmental obligations and to disseminate information on their environmental performance and initiatives. In most of the countries, environmental reporting has not been made mandatory, but corporations take it as obligation on their part to fulfill the information needs of the various stakeholders by preparing various reports in an appropriate manner. In the developed countries like the U.K and the U.S., it is being widely established and applied by big as well as small organizations. As per the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, following are the principles of environmental reporting. - Transparency; - Accuracy; - Clarity; - Inclusiveness and completeness; - Verifiability and auditability; - Timeliness; - Relevance to the concerns of stakeholders; - Comparability (to facilitate comparison over time and between organizations); and, - Neutrality Since the emergence

Personal Philosophy of Nursing Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Philosophy of Nursing - Personal Statement Example In addition, I hope to be of positive impact to the discipline by ensuring that I have good relationships with my colleagues and the community as a whole. My nursing philosophy is influenced by the legal and ethical responsibilities of a nurse towards their patients. In my belief, nurses should promote and protect the safety, health, and privileges of the patient. Every patient deserves to be given quality care irrespective of their culture, religion, race, age, and socio-economic status, among other differentiating factors (American Nurses Association, 2001). It is, therefore, my vow to guard the ethical codes for nurses, which require confidentiality and the provision of quality and safe care. In addition, being ethical in my opinion, means that I should respect the personal beliefs of my clients even if those beliefs conflict with my personal views. For example, patients may refuse to take medicine based on their religious beliefs, thus leaving me in a dilemma on what course of action to take since I know that they will not get better without the medication. In such I dilemma, I would be required to find a solution in which I would meet the patient’s need while also not compromising my beliefs thus maintain ethicality. Care and compassion are some of the greatest attributes that a nurse could have, and show to their patients. Nursing is not only concerned with the physical health of patients but also their emotional and spiritual needs. According to Chitty & Black (2007) health is a holistic entity that involves physical, emotional, physiological, spiritual, and social facets of human life. Therefore, I hope to help my patients manage the emotional stress that comes with illness, and if it is within my capacity, help them find spiritual peace as well, to enable them cope with their situation. In terms of the personal beliefs that influence my nursing practice, I strive

The Relation of Narratives and Video Games Essay Example for Free

The Relation of Narratives and Video Games Essay Video games are a relatively new form of entertainment; the first video game is considered to be Tennis for Two (1958), around fifty years ago, while film has been around for over one-hundred years, the printing press for over five-hundred, and storytelling for thousands of years before that. Because of its newness, video games are a developing medium, their conventions and potential have not been explored as fully in comparison with film and literature. Computers as a technology allow us to overcome more complex tasks and obtain and utilize information more quickly than previous technologies. Often there can be the tendency to describe the new medium as radically different from the old, solely based on its technology. However, it is not necessarily the case. Video games do have new capabilities that separate them from previous storytelling media and it is these new characteristics of video games that separate them from film and literature, creating an environment of storytelling where the traditional narrative structure does not directly apply. Using narrative media as examples a lot can be discovered about video games, however, one must remember what makes them games. See more: how to start a narrative essay Looking at video games as a continuation of games in general rather than an extension of film, they hold a history dating as far back as the ancient Egyptian game of Senet (discovered in the 2686 BC tomb of Hesy-re) (Juul, Half-Real 3-4). It is these game components that must be understood before looking at games from different perspectives. Jesper Juul drew from theorists before him to present what he denotes the classic game model. Juul defines that a game is: 1. a rule-based formal system; 2. with variable and quantifiable outcomes; 3. where different outcomes are assigned different values; 4. where the player exerts effort in order to influence the outcome; 5. the player feels emotionally attached to the outcome; 6. and the consequences of the activity are optional and negotiable (Half-Real 6-7). This model is only a barebones description of what games are and does not outline the variety of games, or what makes games enjoyable. This model is also transmedial, meaning that games are not tied to any medium, just as storytelling is not tied to any medium—there is no ideal game medium and there is no physical component common to all games, but there exists the â€Å"immaterial† component of rules that is common to all games. Rules are the base component of games. They govern how the game is played and they should be designed in a way to make it clear what is and is not allowed in playing the game. Games therefore resemble a state machine, a term used in computer science to describe a machine that consists of an initial state, accepts a number of input events, that changes the state responding to the inputs using a state transition function (in the case of this example, the game rules) and then produces outputs using an output function. Visualizing a game as such, the activity of playing a game produces a game tree that can be seen as branching off at each decision and input. Playing a game is interacting with this state machine and exploring this game tree (Juul, Half-Real 55-56). Rules, however, are seen everywhere in the world, and it is not solely the existence of rules that makes a game. The second item of the classic game model—that games must have variable and quantifiable outcomes—is a salient feature of the game. If a game exists in such a way that no matter how the player interacts with it, it always produces the exact same result, it is not a game. The variable outcomes must also have different values, with some being more desirable to attain than others. In the video game Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo 1985) the outcome of losing all of the game lives is less desirable than defeating the last stage. A player must also exert effort to influence the outcome, generally in a manner that requires more effort to realize a more desirable outcome. It is not merely enough that the player interacts with the game, they must also have a sense of agency. Agency is not simply interaction, but interaction where the player has influence (Murray 126). This separates games of pure chance and gambling as borderline cases. In a game where the player rolls a die and the result of rolling a six is considered victory, the player only exerts trivial effort to roll the die, and exhibits no agency. The player of a game must also feel emotionally attached to the outcome—if the player loses all of their lives in Super Mario Bros. , the player has achieved a negative outcome, and agrees to feel sad, while if they defeat the last stage, they have achieved a positive outcome and agree to feel happy. If the player is not emotionally attached to the outcome, they would not exert the effort to play. The sixth item of the classic game model separates games from the real world—game theorists Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman call this subset of the real world a magic circle (95). Games are a part of the world that they exist in, but the rules carve out a world separated from the real world. It is here where the consequences of outcomes are optional and negotiable—games are a voluntary activity where players can decide the consequences of the game. Soccer, as an example, is a game where in some cases players decide the consequences are simply the glory of victory, but other players, decide that the consequences are career-changing (in the case of professional soccer players). On the other hand, the rules for a political election are game-like and could be played as a game, but an actual election has decided, non-negotiable consequences and therefore is not a game. In the same manner, it could be argued that professional soccer is not a game, but soccer itself is still considered a game as it is known that soccer is played recreationally and its consequences are negotiable. The classic game model outlines games as a voluntary activity that evaluates a players performance—based on a players effort and skill in interacting with the game rules, a variable outcome with an attached value is reached, to which the player is emotionally attached. However, with the advent of the video game (as well as the pen-and-paper role-playing game), the classic game model is not all there is to games anymore. It is still a valuable definition, but the addition of the computer to games modifies the standard game definition. When it comes to rules, the computer is able to handle far more complex processes than a human, allowing for games where the player is free from enforcing the rules of the game, instead having the computer run as a referee of sort. This referee capability can operate anywhere from playing tic-tac-toe to simulating entire fictional worlds. The ability of the computer to run as a referee also allows for rules and calculations to be kept secret from the player. This ability to manage a large amount of information, as well as the ability to run it in secret allows for the computer to manage whole fictional worlds spawning a new type of game, the progression game. This now means there exists two types of games (elements of which can be combined): emergence games and progression games. Most games that have existed before video games are emergence games—games where a large variety of game variations and outcomes come from a small set of rules. Chess, soccer and Pong (Atari 1972) are examples of the emergence game. Progression games require the player to actualize a predefined sequence of events in order to beat the game. The progression game came about with the adventure game and early examples include The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo 1986) and Final Fantasy (Square 1987). Now that video games can have this progression capability and the ability to easily run fictional environments, they have expanded to include storytelling components. The study of video games, therefore, delves into not just the study of rules and interaction, but also the study of narrative as well. Narratives operate fundamentally differently than games and one cannot use the same methods of study for both. Therefore, when comparing games and narratives, just as one must understand games, the basics of narrative in comparison to games must be understood as well. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a narrative as a spoken or written account of connected events; a story. There are three traditional components of the narrative: setting, character and events (plot)—a narrative consists of a world situated in time, populated by characters that participate in action. The world is independent of the question of fictionality, as narratives can be of real as well as fictional events. They can also be split into two levels, the discourse (the telling of the story) and the story itself. Each of these levels has its own time, discourse time and story time, respectively. The story time is the time it took for the actual events to occur, and the discourse time is the time it takes for the retelling (Juul, â€Å"Games Telling Stories†). A week may pass in a story with no event, and thus the narrative could write it off in one sentence, while an action scene that lasted merely a few seconds could take much longer to explain. This means that even though the narrative may be observing events at a time, there exists an understanding that the events are not actually occurring at the moment of reading (Juul, â€Å"Games Telling Stories†). Narratives are not limited to the novel or storytelling, and can recognizably be translated between different narrative media—The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R Tolkien is recognizable as the movie of the same name. However, not everything can be transferred equally as well. For example, film is better at conveying action and movement, while the novel is better suited to producing inner thoughts. With games and narratives understood, examining the two side-by-side displays several differences. The most apparent of these is the difference in timing. The narrative has two levels, discourse and story, but when examining games in the same manner it is near impossible to distinguish between the two. In playing Super Mario Bros., when the player presses the A button on their controller, the in-game character jumps, thus synchronizing story and discourse time. It is imperative of the narrative that this separation in time exists. Not only does jumping in Super Mario Bros. place discourse and story time together, it also influences the game world. The understanding, in experiencing a narrative, that the time of the discourse is separate from the time of the events means that in some manner the events have already occurred (even if the setting is in some supposed future)—the events are unable to be influenced. The very agency that the player exercises in playing a game contradicts the idea of narrativity; it is impossible to influence an event that has already occurred (Juul, â€Å"Games Telling Stories†). Because of this contradiction, games themselves cannot be narratives, but this does not limit them from employing and producing them. The very activity of playing a game can produce a narrative, the player can tell a story of their experience in the game. Just as well, games can have stories told through them (especially progression games) as many games contain back-stories and quests that offer the player narratives alongside their play. Video games have two parts: rules (discussed earlier) and fiction. For a number of years, the arcade game was all that existed and they contained both rules and fiction, but the two were loosely connected. This led some to conclude that a games fiction is easily removable and replaceable, thus making it unimportant in relation to the rules. Juul had previously taken the stance that rules are what make a game a game, fiction is unnecessary for a game, a game with an excellent fiction can still be a terrible game, therefore fiction is unimportant in games (Half-Real 13). When looking at simple games such as Space Invaders (Taito 1978), one could remove the theme of an alien invasion and portray an advancing German front; the players spaceship could become a Russian tank. If the rules were kept the same, the player would experience no real difference between playing either, but the same sort of procedure would not perform the same if it were attempted on a progression game such as Myst (Broderbund 1993) because the game experience relies more heavily on the fiction. Juul stated that, There are, of course, many relationships between theme and structure in a game. Whether or not any of those relationships are essential, they are complex and vital enough to resist my attempt to lightly shuffle them around (Half-Real 15). If the fiction of a game is tied to its experience, what role does it play in the game and its rules? In some cases the fiction may point to the rules, as well as the other way around; in other cases the fiction serves the rules in an incoherent manner, subservient to gameplay. When it comes to the fiction component of games, one main difference from narrative media is that they do not require anthropomorphic actors/characters in order to be entertaining (Juul, Half-Real 160-161). While films and other stories are largely about humans or anthropomorphic characters that a viewer/reader identifies with on a cognitive level, games such as Tetris (Pazhitnov 1985), Pong and Missile Command (Atari 1980) exist without such. This lack of a visible actor does not make Tetris any less of a game, and makes the idea of a movie based on Tetris an unlikelihood, but it shows how games can accomplish something different, and almost completely separate, than traditional narrative media. Another main difference is the progression of time in games. Previously the difference with discourse and story time was explored, but the chronological appearance of time also varies between games and narratives. Due to the fixed, predetermined nature of a narrative the telling can jump around to various points in the story time either in flash-forwards or flash-backs. To do the same in a game becomes problematic, for predetermination precludes agency. If the player is put back in time (in the past), they are put in a situation where they must actualize a series of events that allows the game in the present to exist, thus limiting the player. The same goes for flash-forwards where the player is put in a position of what is to happen, limiting their play upon return to the present. However, even though games are not narratives, games are no longer strictly abstract. They often contain fictional components as well, leading to new types of games. Besides just viewing games as emergent and progressive, there exists five categories of games: abstract, iconic, incoherent world, coherent world and staged. Abstract games are games that does not, nor do its pieces, represent something else. The game of Go is a game that is merely rules and although there exist conventions for the size and appearance of the various game pieces, they do not mean anything. Tetris is a well known abstract video game. Iconic games are quite similar abstract games, but their individual pieces simply have iconic meaning. In a standard deck of cards there is a king, queen and jack of each of the four suits, but there is no clear explanation of their relation to the other kings, queens and jacks of the other suits. Incoherent world games are games that have a fictional world, but it either contains contradictions or events in the gameplay that cannot be explained by the fictional world. In Super Mario Bros. , Mario has multiple lives, but there exists nothing in the fiction that explains it, it only serves the rules. Chess represents two parties at war, but to explain the movement of the units one must refer to the rules as it is not apparent in the fiction. Coherent world games are games that have a fictional world that contain nothing that prevents the player from imagining them in full. Most adventure games such as the recent The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Softworks 2012) are coherent world games. Staged games are a special type of abstract or representational game that are played inside of a larger, more elaborate world. Mario Party (Nintendo 1998) contains an overarching fictional world and game, but is largely made up of individual staged games. Another instance of the staged game is in Shenmue (Sega 1999) where the protagonist can play on in-game arcade machines. Each of these categories of games has its own place in the world of video games and it is important to be aware of the varieties that exist. Of these varieties though, there is the coherent world—the progression game. In this type of game the player must perform a predefined set of actions in a coherent world setting. This kind of game sounds very similar to the narrative, but still has variable outcomes, player effort and other game components. One example of this kind of game is The Walking Dead (Telltale Games 2012). The Walking Dead is set in Georgia during a fictional zombie apocalypse. The player plays as Lee Everett, a professor convicted of killing a man he found sleeping with his wife. Due to the zombie uprising he does not end up in prison, instead ends up caring for a little girl by the name of Clementine. The gameplay mainly revolves around conversations that the player has with other characters and occasionally the player is put in a position where they must make a critical decision. At the end of each â€Å"chapter,† the game reports out on the player’s decisions as well as the percentage of other players that either disagreed or agreed with them. It is through this method that the player is able to reflect on the cause and effect of their decisions. This sort of environment demonstrates that games are a playground where the player may experiment with things they would or could not do in a real-life setting (Juul, Half-Real 193). It is this phenomenon of player-made decisions and the reflection of them that traditional narratives cannot accomplish. In conclusion, games are made up of six components that make up the classic game model: they are rule-based systems with variable outcomes that have different assigned values, the player exerts effort in order to influence the outcome, the player feels emotionally attached to the outcome, and the consequences of the game are optional and negotiable. With the advent of the computer, there are new capabilities available to games. There are now two main types of games, emergent and progression games, with a spectrum of combinations between them. Emergent games are made up of a set of rules that combine to produce a large set of outcomes. Progression games require the player to perform a specific set of actions in order to complete the game. With this progression capability, it is important to compare video games and narratives. A narrative is a spoken or written account of connected events. Narratives have two levels, story and discourse, each of these with their own time. Games often do not have distinction between their story and discourse time (as the events are occurring in real time), and thus are not narratives. Games, although not narratives themselves, allow for players to produce narratives through playing them; players may recount their experiences in a game. Games may not themselves be stories, but that does not mean that they do not employ them or that player’s cannot tell stories about their experiences in a game. Games offer a different experience than the narrative media before it; the player gets to experience something rather than view it and has an influence in the environment. The player of a game also gets to experiment with ideas in a sort of playground and reflect on their decisions and the effects they have. That does not, however, imply that the medium is necessarily a superior or inferior one. Films, novels and other narrative media can provide experience that games cannot, just as games provide experiences that traditional narrative media cannot. Looking forward, one can only imagine what games can accomplish in the field of entertainment that was not possible before. Works Cited Aarseth, Espen J. Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1997. Print. Ebert, Roger. Video Games Can Never Be Art. RogerEbert. com. Ebert Digital LLC, 16 Apr. 2010. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. â€Å"Game Studies. † Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Sept. 2012. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. Game The News: The Project That Birthed a Syrian Civil War Game That’s Been Pulled from the App Store. Edge Online. Future Publishing Limited, 8 Jan. 2013. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. Juul, Jesper. â€Å"A Clash between Game and Narrative. † Thesis. University of Copenhagen, 1999. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. . â€Å"Games Telling Stories? A Brief Note on Games and Narratives. † Game Studies1. 1 (2001): n. pag. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. . Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds. Cambridge: MIT, 2011. Print. Jenkins, Henry. Game Design as Narrative Architecture. Henry Jenkins. MIT, n. d. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. Murray, Janet H. Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. Cambridge: MIT, 1997. Print. Narrative. Def. 1. Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University, n. d. Web. 28 Apr. 2013. Ryan, Marie-Laure. â€Å"Beyond Myth and Metaphor: The Case of Narrative in Digital Media. † Game Studies 1. 1 (2001): n. pag. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. Salen, Katie, and Eric Zimmerman. Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2003. Print.

Study of people and change

Study of people and change Change, change, change were all for change. We want to see him change, her change, them change. We want to see the organisation change. We want to see everyone change. We want to see everyone else change. Yes, were all for change as long as we dont have to change, but its a fact of life; we are all changing every day. Our environment is changing, our culture is changing, and the way we work is changing. The outside dynamics, technologies, strategies and plans are continuously changing. We are left with three options: We can fight it and delay it, but well change eventually. We can ignore it and hope it will go away but it wont, and well be overcome by it. We can embrace it, look forward to it, and well find our trip through life much more interesting, controllable, and enjoyable. (Buchanna, 1999) Process of Change Source: According to the given case study of Mybank there is also an element of change which the senior management tried to implement because of the external environment factors and the change which they tried to implement is quality management programme with the focus on cost reduction means they just formed a team of their employee and ask them to remove the inefficiencies that occurred during the process of change. As we move further we will discuss various drivers and restrainers of the Mybank, typology of the change, role of change agent, change management models and various outcomes from the learning from the case of Mybank and suitable recommendation for the better change. Drivers and Restrainers The forces helps organisation to move ahead with aim of implementing the change in successful manner but there are certain forces which pushes back the organisation objective of implementing the change. These forces are known as drivers and restrainers (Johnson, 2005). When any organisation plans for change they will need a drivers which facilitate their process of change but during this process the organisation can face obstacles also which are restrainers and during the implementation of change in Mybank case there were several drivers and restrainers which comes on the way of implementing the change. These drivers were the senior management who started the change by trying to present the quality improvement programme with consideration of better quality service to its customers and this was done by formation of teams of its employees which will remove the inefficiencies. Moreover, they consulted the consultants also to ease the process of change because they have more experience. But all these changes were considered by not ignoring the fact of cost Mybank was very specific and focused about the cost reduction. So when the implementation was on its way Mybank suffered with restrainers also that were the difference between the employees because everyone had different point of view regarding to change. Ego clashes between the departmental managers and regional lending managers, rejection of recommendations by senior managers, work over load for employees after the change, and the two separate lending loans section which resulted in ambiguity of data of clients. These all were the restrainers. Below Section will discuss more about the force field analysis Force Field analysis A force field analysis is a problem solving tool used to identify the reasons (forces) that support or oppose two positions to a question and the strength of each force. Kurt Lewin (1947) was the originator of the concept. Force field analysis could be used by to answer question, What factors affect the acceptance or resistance to a particular change? the assumption of a force field analysis is that it is easier to reduce the factors that are resistant than to increase the strength of the driving (supporting) forces. Below is the view of force field analysis. Force Field Analysis Source: (Stacey, 1993) Typology of change Tuning: It is very minute change that made by the change agents for the betterment of the organisation. It mainly focus on the customer satisfaction and this change is anticipatory change and according to the Mybank case the small change of quality for the better customer satisfaction has been implemented. Adapting: This change occurs with respect to the external activity like competitors new form of service and customer unpredictable reaction about the product and this change is reactive. With consideration of the fact of external environment Mybank hired the outside consultant to have competitive edge and ease the process of the change. Reorientation: This is one of the major organisational change that come on the way of process. In Mybank case the major change occurred when they got to know that they have to integrate the two lending loan section. This change is also anticipatory change. Recreating: This change gives response to the major changes in the form of dramatic shift. This is also reactive change. (Stacey, 1993) Change Management Models Anticipating Change It is the process which is having the very well defined and crystal clear model for the forces and the change in an organisation. There are two ways of doing the change i.e. planned change and unplanned change. As name suggest the planned change is the proper planning for the making the implementation of change in successful manner and this change and it is very important because the organisation do a lot of research with proper planning(Nilikant and Ramnarayan, 2006). On the other side unplanned change is the change when some mishappening occurred in the team like different member have different point of view in respect to change and it is very difficult to control the unplanned change because it comes suddenly during the process of change. Appreciating change makes the organisation aware that what is the requirement of change, what the results of the chosen change are and what are the best possible option available that help organisation with the aim of cost balancing. It comprises of 2 views i.e. Mental Models and Content Change. When we look at the case study of Mybank there were need of the change of quality and the implementation is done by making the inner teams which further remove the inefficiencies occurred during the implementation of change. (Nilikant and Ramnarayan, 2006) Content of Change Some ethics and principle means a lot to the organisation and they stick to that only. With global environment changing day by day and lot of organisation make changes according to this active and competitive environment. With respect to these changes an organisation can make a start from quality, marketing, technology and marketing(Nilikant and Ramnarayan, 2006). Technology changes frequently and it is not about only the technical side but it is more into collection knowledge, data and activities which further help organisation to achieve the desired outputs. To sustain and maintain the brand in this competitive environment is the daunting task for any organisation. There are two thing that occurred in Mybank case i.e. they focussed on the Multiskilling of the staff because they want to meet the expectations of the customers because they knew that they are only who drives any organisation and if they able to meet the expectation of the customer it means they are on the right path an d if not then they have to reconsider the change(Nilikant and Ramnarayan, 2006). Now comes the element of cost which is again the difficult task for an organisation because cost balancing is very difficult to maintain and in Mybank main focused was on the cost reduction with parallel implementation of quality programme. Now the final content of change is Marketing which can be done by giving good service to the customers and exploring various distribution channels. Mental Models This model is well defined by the Senge and he believes that organisation is generally not aware of the mental models and their effects on the individuals behaviour of an organisation. Mental Model are having two form one form consists of simple straight strategy which is known as the strategic planning which consists of SWOT analysis i.e. strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Other form or mental model create a lot of impact on the organisation failure and success. Mental model helps organisation to get the best output . (Nilikant and Ramnarayan, 2006) Mobilising Support When Organisation decides for the change and with the help of staff only they will able to implement the change. For this, the senior level management has to convince the staff and the other people which are linked to the organisation because with the full participation, involvement, dedication, commitment of the staff they change will get successful. Mobilising support is not an easy process because to control the staff and to convince them for the change requires lot willingness and patience. According to the Mybank case the senior management tried to hire consultant which further tried to convince staff to focus on the strategies that has been advised by consultants. At the end they want the employee full dedication for the change. (Nilikant and Ramnarayan, 2006) Executing Change Execution phase is very critical for the organisation and most of the organisation fails while implementing the change because of improper execution change. The organisation is having different kind of resources like finance, staff which plays a very important part in implementation of the change and requirement of these resources needed when quick change occurs in environment like competitor developed new product and services and it is believed that organisation always lack these resources when sudden change occurs and an organisation needs proper strategy to overcome this problem of resources. According to the case study Mybank implemented both the top down and bottom approaches with the help of consultants to get the desired aim of achieving the quality. (Nilikant and Ramnarayan, 2006) Building Change Capability To built the change capability is again a daunting task for any organisation and it is said that organisation always lack this capability. Organisation always ready to invest and build the capability to move forward which helps them to fight with the change but only few of them able to overcome. If they able to achieve the building capacity change then they can quickly able to achieve their targets and aims. In a nut shell capability change is very important part that organisation has to consider. According to the case Mybank tried to multiskill their employees and trained them because by investing on employees they can eradicate the difficulties that come their way. (Nilikant and Ramnarayan, 2006) Change Agent Cummings and Worley (2005) define a change agent as a person who attempts to alter some aspect of an organisation or an environment. Change agent may come from inside an organisation, in which case they are called internal consultants, or they may come from outside an organisation, in which case they are called external consultants (Stacey, 1993) Kotters view of change There are right mistakes organisation make while attempting to implement change. The eight mistakes include allowing complacency, failing to create a powerful guiding coalition, underestimating the power of vision, under communicating the vision, permitting obstacles to block the new vision, failing to create short-term wins, declaring victory too soon, and neglecting to anchor change firmly in the corporate culture. Each of these mistakes will be discussed in more detail below. Kotter (1996) proposes eight steps to leading organisational change and a procedure to overcome the aforementioned mistakes. Step one is to establish a sense of urgency by examining the market and competitors and identifying potential problems and major opportunities. Step two suggests leaders create a guiding coalition by assembling a team of people with sufficient power to lead the change to fruition while continuing to work as a team. Step three is to develop a vision and strategy to direct the change effort while developing solid strategies for completion. Step four is to communicate the vision to all employees and subordinate leaders. Step five involves empowering broad-based action by getting rid of obstacles, changing systems or structures as necessary, encouraging risk taking, and generating new ideas. Steps six to generate short-term wins and recognise the people who make the wins reality. Step seven is to consolidate gains and produce more change by hiring, promoting, and f urther developing change agents in the organisation. Finally, step eight in the change process advocates anchoring new approaches in the newly defined culture, thereby more value for the customer and employees alike. Kotter change model places significant emphasis upon the senior leaders in organisational changes efforts. Kotters Eight Stages Model Source: (Stacey, 1993) People and Change William Bridges transition model is concerned with how change affects individuals. It examines the psychological transitions that people go through when they are exposed to change and pattern that these transition follow. Because organisations change when people in them change, it is important to understand the pattern of psychological changes within individuals undergoing an organisational change. According to the bridges, these are the phases people go through as part of a significant change. The phases are (1) letting go and ending phase, in which people need time to grapple with losing something that has become familiar and safe;(2) neutral zone, during which people need time to comprehend what the new order will be like once the change is implemented and how they can fit into it and be productive; and (3) new beginning, where people begin to behave in the new ways that are required by the change (Stacey, 1993). Bridges claims that one of the biggest challenges of leading change occurs because the leader knows about the change long before others in the organisation. Therefore, he or she spent time in the first two phases, at least, before the change is announced to most employees. Forgetting that they themselves took time to go through the phases, leaders see employees who are just beginning the letting phase as rigid or even hostile to the change. Another main point here in Bridges Model is that at any time people who are higher in management have had more time to learn about the deal of the change-so they are farther along on the psychological transitions path. Because it is hard for them to remember how it felt to be in previous stage, they see people in the earlier stages as hostile to the change when they are actually just in the earlier stages of the processing it and its effect on themselves. Bridges Model of Transition Source: (Johnson, 2005) Learning Single Loop and Double Loop learning When something goes wrong, many people look for another strategy that will address and work within the governing variables. In other words, given or chosen goals, values, plans, and rules are operationalised rather than questioned. This is single loop learning. An alternative response is to question the governing variables themselves and to subject them to critical scrutiny. This is described as double loop learning. Such learning may then lead to an alteration in the governing variables and thus a shift in the way in which strategies and consequences are framed. This is how Argyris and Schon (1978) describe the process in the context of organisational learning. Single loop learning is like a thermostat that learns when it is too hot or too cold and turns the heat on or off. The thermostat can perform this task because it can receive room temperature information and take corrective action. Double loop learning occurs when errors are detected and corrected in ways that involve the modification of an organisations underlying norms, principles, policies, and objectives. (Nilikant and Ramnarayan, 2006) Single and Double Loop Learning Source: (Johnson, 2005) Recommendations for Mybank Four Core managerial competencies Decision-Making: This includes intuition and vision, the ability together and utilise information, understanding the practical and political consequences of decisions, the ability to overcome resistance, the skill to understand and synthesise conflicting views and to be able to empathise with different groups. Coalition-building: This comprises the skills necessary to gain the support and resources necessary to implement decisions. These include checking the feasibility of ideas, gaining supporters, bargaining with other stakeholders and presenting new ideas and concepts in a way that wins support. Achieving Action: This includes handling opposition, motivating people, providing support and building self esteem. (Stacey, 1993) Maintaining momentum and effort: This involves team building, generating ownership, sharing information and problems, providing feedback, trusting people and energising staff. An effective change Team It is necessary for the management to identify a team of people who will be responsible for promoting the changes required through commitment, communication and the provision of resources. Communicate the need for change Organisation and staff have a natural resistance to change as it challenges the organisations culture and often means additional work. It is therefore essential that the need to change is communicated clearly and convincingly in order to break down resistance. Employee commitment and involvement It is essential to ensure that the new way of working becomes integrated into organisations culture. The main way of gaining commitment to change is by involving staff in the development of potential changes and then in their subsequent introduction. Induction of change at the appropriate level Very few changes affect the entire organisation and when considering what needs to be different, it is important that managers identify exactly what and who needs to change. This is to ensure that proposed change will bring about the desired outcome. Sufficient Resources The introduction of change needs to be supported by the appropriate resources, such as money, staff training and staff time. Although money is important, allowing adequate staff time to develop and implement the change is even more so. Rewards and Recognition If you change the process and want to change individual behaviour patterns, you need to change the way you reward and recognise your staff. If you reward the people in the old way, theyll behave in the same old way. Considering Options The 5Cs of decision-making is a useful reminder of the process ahead of implementation: Consider -clarify the nature of the project, time and other constraints -identify the objectives Consult -gather the maximum amount of information available -call a meeting of those involved or their representatives. -decide at which point the consultation will stop Crunch review all the options and take decision -write down implementation plan. Communicate provide briefings on what will happen, why, and who the decision affects -make sure that everyone understands when decision is implemented

To Kill A Mocking Bird :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

Discrimination, this is a word that is heard today and was heard especially in the southern U.S. in the early 1900’s. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the character Scout who is portrayed as a Tomboy and coincidentally the author witnessed numerous times to the outwardly prejudice people of Maycomb Co., Alabama as a very young girl. These prejudices that were heard throughout the entire novel are separated into three categories: racism, sexism, and lifestyles discrimination. Racial discrimination was the most prominent, which as Harper Lee pointed out, was not just limited to the Caucasian population of Maycomb. One of these instances was when Lula commented on the Finch children coming to a historically all black church. Another less prominent form of this reverse discrimination would be the fact that the African people of Maycomb tended to assume that all white people in Maycomb had a deep hatred for blacks, and so they also treated all of them as prejudiced people. But, the black population, by far was discriminated against the most. For instance the many times Scout was told her father defended niggers, and was a nigger lover. One of these times would be when Francis states, "I guess it ain't your fault if Uncle Atticus is nigger lover"(83). And although Scout didn't truly know the meanings of these statements seemingly rooted into the core of many Maycomb residents, she did sense that they were not statements of praise and accomplishment. Another type of prejudice in the novel would be the sexism and resulting stereotypical views of how women and men should act, dress, and what they can and cannot do. A good example of this being the many times a neighbor of the Finches’, Mrs. Dubose made statements like, "What are you doing in overalls. If you don't start acting proper you will end up serving tables"(101). This would consider being the vast majority of this sexism was aimed at women and girls. They were constantly told what was proper and lady-like and what they should dress like to look like a lady. These so called ideals were not only reinforced and taught by men but also by women. Scout was one of the minorities of people who didn't conform to these ideals and was therefore ridiculed by the closed-minded people of Maycomb. The third and final form of prejudice is actually a combination of the other two types of prejudice, this prejudice being the discrimination against non-conforming lifestyles.

Mark Twain not Racist the Adventures of Huckleberry Fin :: essays research papers

There is many racial elements in, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a story that has caused much controversy over the years. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, was published two decades after the civil war was over, yet it is set in a time period before the civil war began so there is many examples of racism and slavery. Mark Twain believed that slavery, and owning slaves was acceptable, but he was not a racist. Mark Twain was for slavery because he grew up in a time period where it was okay to have slaves and it even boosted your social status, to own slaves. â€Å"He cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their’n. It don’t seem natural...†(155). Mark Twain thought that black people were on a lower level of social status than white people, and that they did not care for their families as much as white people did. â€Å"And then think of me! It would get all around that Huck Finn helped a nigger to get his freedom, and if I was ever to seen anybody from that town again I’d be ready to get down and lick his boots for shame†(212). In the 1860's it was considered immoral and a sin to help a slave into freedom. Mark Twain’s character, Huckleberry Finn, is ashamed that he helped the slave Jim to escape, yet he is good to Jim, so there is a bit of conflicting interests in Huck’s and Jim’s relationship. Mark Twain was not a racist because he did not portray Huckleberry Finn as one in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. â€Å"People would call me a low-down abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum, but that don’t make no difference†(43). Huck new it was wrong to help Jim escape, but that was his friend and he did not care was the other people thought. â€Å"All right, then, I’ll go to hell†(214). Huck decides that he doesn’t want to give up Jim’s locations so he decides to rip up the letter that he was going to send to Jim’s owner Miss Watson, even if it meant that he would go to hell for committing what he believed was a sin. â€Å"I saved him by telling the men we had smallpox aboard, and he was so grateful, and said I was the best friend old Jim ever had in the world, and the only one he’s got now†(214).

Essay --

The Estate Tax, known as the ‘death tax’ as well as the ‘anti-birth tax’, has been one of the most controversial parts of the United States tax code since its introduction in 1916 (Cagetti & De Nardi, 85). The estate tax is a tax imposed upon assets transferred at the time of the estate holder’s death. Those opposed have named it the â€Å"death tax† as they claim it hurts business activity as well as job creation. However, according to those in favor, the estate tax is an effective way to tax the richest few, and redistribute their wealth, thereby narrowing the gap of inequality. For those in favor, an abolition of the estate tax would impose a â€Å"birth tax† of sorts onto the majority of Americans who have not inherited a large sum of money (Cagetti & De Nardi, 87). The controversial estate tax in the United States is often questioned by many and has been challenged time and time again. However, more emphasis has typically been put o n particular aspects of the tax code where points of dispute are found. In order to fully understand the positions taken by those in favor of the estate tax, and those opposed, it is important to analyze the generality of the tax, as well as the details within it that have been contended over time. Some of the main aspects of the estate tax are taxability, deductions, and exemptions. These aspects are of importance in the context of the ongoing debate, as they most directly educate the tax to those transferring their estate at the time of death. Taxable ‘estate’ assets include those passed along through a will, for example (transfer of property), or the payments or insurances disbursed to beneficiaries of the deceased (IRS, Estate Tax). The IRS considers the transferred assets that are federally taxable t... ... decedent chose to do with their assets. Finally, the very existence of the estate tax puts a significant strain on the overall economy placing undue burdens not only on the rich or on family business, but also those who would be positively affected by the undistorted efforts of those individuals subjected to the tax (Hasset). The federal estate tax, coupled with the local state estate tax have very discouraging and negative effects on not only those taxed, by those that are not (Ebeling). Estate taxation is a highly controversial issue in the United states tax code, and has been appropriately debated from before and since its introduction in 1916. Wether its existence be referred to as the â€Å"death tax†, or its absence as the â€Å"birth tax†, those for and those against have long argued its fundamental validity and appropriateness, its effectiveness, and its contents.

Conviction of Louise Woodward

In this essay i will be writing and explaining how spoken language is used and adapted to influence the jury in the closing argument that convicted Louise Woodward. The prosecutor uses a variety of features in this argument to convince the jury persecute Louse Woodward. I will be going through these techniques and explaining why he uses them to influence the jury. Gerard T Leone Jr was the prosecutor in the case of the death of Mathew Eappen. He uses repetition in the first section of the argument by repeating the victim name, â€Å"Mathew Eappen. The repetitions show that he wants the jury to focus his attention on the victim. He wants the jury to feel emotionally connected to Mathew Eappen so it would affect the decision the jury makes. The repetition of â€Å"Mathew Eappen† encourages the acceptance of the idea that he was young and already dead because of Louise Woodward. It gives Mathew and the court people a mutual bond. He talk about Mathew Eappen by saying the things he hasn’t done to make the court feel pity toward him by saying that â€Å"Mathew Eappen will never take his first step. Mathew Eappen will never say his first word because Mathew Eappen is dead. An additional example of repetition is when the repeats the word explodes† when he talks about how the victims actually died. He repeats and uses this word as he is expected to use powerful language to convince the jury and the word â€Å"explodes† has imagery so when he says â€Å"Mattie’s head explodes† people visualise this shocking image. This is effective because he could have easily put up pictures of the wound but by making the audience visualise it, in some people minds the wound might appear more serious and horrifying than it was actually in real life.Another use of imagery is when he talk about the size of the wound . He doesn’t use an adjective or a simile but uses the name of an object to represent the wounds. In this context he uses a goose’s egg. He says in form of a rhetorical question that â€Å"she would have seen that goose egg on the back of his head†. He uses a goose egg because when you visualise it is very fragile and easily broken so this is referring to poor Mattie’s skull and that fact it uses a gooses egg over a daily , normal chicken eggs that this wasn’t a ordinary crack but bigger more sever crack which unfortunately cost Mathew Eappen his life.A technique that he uses is sarcasm; during the last section of the speech is that convicted Louise Woodward. Gerard talk about the testimony Louise gave about the death of Mathew Eappen. She saying the testimony that she popped Mathew on the floor but he replies by saying â€Å"that the word popped sounds like the word dropped, that the words popped sounds a little lie tossed. †This is sarcastic because he wants the people to know for sure that Louise dropped Mathew Eappen which cause his head to â€Å"explode. His using sarcasm to tell the jury that Louise Woodward is guilty without tell the jury and court directly that she is guilty. This is effective because not is he accusing her indirectly but he is confirming that the injuries were caused by Louise Woodward. The prosecutor uses many rhetorical questions through out the argument because these make the audience think and have time to answer the questions in the minds even thought Gerard T Leone is not asking for an answer he is giving question after question so the audience can think about them and find out the point he is trying to make.In the middle of the argument he shows this by saying â€Å"Don’t you think she would have seen that goose egg on the back of his head? Don’t you think she would have preceded some swelling, some injury to the back of Mathew Head? † Another example of him using a rhetorical question is when he says â€Å"Why would Sergeant Detective Bill Burn lie? Former marine twenty five years on the for ce. †In this context he uses a rhetorical question that is leading so the court will automatically think that what Bill Burn said wasn’t a lie .The question is leading because he follows the question with â€Å"former marine twenty five years on the force. †This makes Bill sound trustworthy and Louise Woodward guiltier. Using rhetorical questions is great because as a prosecutor you would expect them to question the case and use rhetorical question to convince the court men. The prosecutor has used a variety of techniques through out his argument to convince the jury to convict Louise Woodward. I believe this is a great piece of spoken language as well as having many features the prosecutor is adding emotion and moods by changing some words.A example of this is when he says â€Å"She was bathing Mattie like she was supposed to,’ he uses the name Mattie instead of Mathew because it signifies how young he was and Mattie is the name that the people with the closest relationship would call him such as his parent, so by calling him Mattie he is creating sorrow and pity by talking about the loss of someone so loved. Overall this is a very convincing argument and is structured carefully so all details correspond with each other creating an organised power and strong argument.

Enduring Value †Othello Essay

Shakespeare’s masterpiece Othello has remained relevant beyond its original context not merely because of its universal themes of love and betrayal, but rather, due to its textual integrity, and the enduring value which is enhanced through the exploration of such issues, as marginalisation and the psychology of villainy. Shakespeare’s portrayal of Othello as being an outsider, and being â€Å"othered† by the Venetian society due to his different race, reflects traditional Elizabethan values and ethics regarding racial prejudice and inequality. These recurring issues, of social intolerance and racial bias are prevalent concerns in our modern society. Shakespeare’s expresses the nature of villainy through his antagonist, Iago, as he explores issues of betrayal and deceit. These issues, revolving around Othello’s passion, struggle and vulnerability, as an outsider, are representative of the human condition, hence making it pivotal, of why â€Å"Othell o† has remained relevant in a different context. Shakespeare positions us to view the marginalisation and dehumanisation of Othello, from various perspectives, initially through physical features, the notion of racial contempt is conveyed via Rodrigo’s, â€Å"Thick Lips†, Iago’s â€Å"Old Black Ram†, and Brabantio’s â€Å"fall in love with what she fear’d to look on†. This vilification, based on physical appearance reinforces traditional Elizabethan views, and to an extent, views held by groups in society today. Though, Othello’s physical appearance was just one factor. Othello was named â€Å"devil† by Iago, from a spiritual perspective, stereotyping those of African descent who were associated with witchcraft, this metaphor reinforces stereotypical racism, causing the reader to question, what has initiated such hatred from Iago to Othello, this allows the reader to a connect on an emotional level with Othello, as it generates empathy. Furthermore the readers perspecti ve of Othello is conflicted due to other members of Venetian society, â€Å"your son in law is far more fair than black†, this binary opposition from the Duke, contrasts between black and white, and their symbolic values. Othello’s â€Å"blackness† is associated with impurity and inhuman values, exemplified via â€Å"making the beast with two backs†, dehumanising Othello, and reinforcing how the Venetian society has ostracised him. Ostracism, based on spiritual backgrounds and physical appearance, is common even in a modern context, as bullying and racism is a common flaw in our society. Though, it is through these experiences, the reader can further empathise and have a better understanding of Othello’s character, and his emotions. Shakespeare also challenges us to consider Othello’s cultural background, through his foreign and exotic tales that Othello retells to members of Venetian society, this is exemplified through, â€Å"Tis true, there’s magic in the web of it†, this is not merely foreign to the Venetians, who were predominantly Religious Christians and did not believe in such black magic and witchcraft, but this was also seen as a waste of time , and an insignificant matter, as Desdemona instantly replies with, â€Å"I pray, talk me of Cassio†, followed by, â€Å"You’ll never meet a more sufficient man†. This repetition is implied to reinforce Desdemona’s lack of knowledge, as this is clearly making Othello enraged, but furthermore it expresses the carefree and uninterested approach Desdemona is taking in regards to Othello’s spiritual story of how he gained that handkerchief. Shakespeare, though, gives Othello a significantly high role in their Venetian society, positioning him as a General in the army, though Othello is granted a superior position, he would still be in a lower hierarchy, as the Venetian society could not overlook his outer â€Å"blackness†, reinforced through â€Å"you’ll have your nephew neigh to you†, this animalistic and sexual imagery, conveys to the reader, no matter how successful Othello becomes, the Venetian society will always regard him as less of a human. This dehumanisation is mainly the cause of the opportunistic antagonist, Iago. Shakespeare positions us to view Iago as a Machiavellian character, conveyed through the recurring issue of betrayal as Othello is blinded by his â€Å"loyalty†, this is exemplified through â€Å"A man he is of honesty and trust†, stated by Othello as he willingly accepts Iago. Shakespeare’s characterisation of Iago advances the readers hatred towards the cunning villain, as his soliloquies emphasise his devious nature, â€Å"the moor is of a free and open nature†¦ and will as tenderly be led by the nose as asses are† this animalistic imagery communicates Iago’s lack of respect towards Othello, reflecting the nature of evil. This concept of the nature of evil is explored by F.R Leavis as he describes Othello as â€Å"overly aware of his nobility†, expressing Leavis’ distaste towards Othello. Furthermore, the motivation behind Iago’s evil is unknown, though Shakespeare positions us to see Iago as an opportunist through, â€Å"it is the green eyed monster which doth mock†, personifying jealousy to manipulate the emotions of the gullible Othello. Overall, Shakespeare’s deeply enthralling text â€Å"Othello†, has remained relevant beyond its original context, to suit a more modern audience, due to the text’s enduring values and textual integrity, enhanced through the common issue of marginalisation which is evident in both Elizabethan and 21st Century context.

Merger of Bank of Rajasthan with Icici Bank

MERGER OF THE BANK OF RAJASTHAN LIMITED WITH ICICI BANK The Bank of Rajasthan Limited (Bank of Rajasthan), a banking company incorporated within the meaning of Companies Act, 1956 and licensed by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 was amalgamated with ICICI Bank Limited (ICICI Bank/the Bank) with effect from close of business on August 12, 2010 in terms of the Scheme of Amalgamation (the Scheme) approved by RBI vide its order DBOD No. PSBD 2599/16. 01. 056/2010-11 dated August 12, 2010 under sub section (4) of section 44A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.The consideration for the amalgamation was 25 equity shares of ICICI Bank of the face value of Rs. 10 each fully paid-up for every 118 equity shares of Rs. 10 each of Bank of Rajasthan. Accordingly, ICICI Bank allotted 31,323,951 equity shares to the shareholders of Bank of Rajasthan on August 26, 2010 and 2,860,170 equity shares, which were earlier kept in abeyance pending civil appeal, on November 25, 2010. During the year, we acquired The Bank of Rajasthan which substantially enhanced our branch network and strengthened our presence in northern and western India.The merger of Bank of Rajasthan added over 450 branches to our network. Including these, our branch network has increased from 1,707 branches at March 31, 2010 to 2,529 branches at March 31, 2011. We also increased our ATM network from 5,219 ATMs at March 31, 2010 to 6,055 ATMs at March 31, 2011. During the year, the integration of Bank of Rajasthan into the Bank was a major exercise which was successfully completed. The integration process focused both on business as well as cultural integration.The people and cultural integration was achieved through well-planned communication of the Bank's values and culture. The Bank reached out to all employees of Bank of Rajasthan and addressed their expectations and concerns. This was achieved through communication from the top management of the Bank, open house sessions join tly conducted by senior managers from Bank of Rajasthan and ICICI Bank and one-on-one sessions wherever required. Further, to align the skill sets of Bank of Rajasthan employees, special training programs were designed and conducted by the Bank.Pursuant to the merger of the Bank of Rajasthan, we also enabled seamless transactions for the customers of Bank of Rajasthan in a short timeframe and combined the ATM and branch networks and technology infrastructure. To enable better customer service, our branch staff has been equipped with a comprehensive and single view of customer relationships. We have also enhanced our Interactive Voice Response system at our call centres to support regional Indian languages. Amalgamation of The Bank of RajasthanOn May 23, 2010, the Board of Directors of ICICI Bank and the Board of Directors of The Bank of Rajasthan Limited (Bank of Rajasthan), an old private sector bank, at their respective meetings approved an all-stock amalgamation of Bank of Rajast han with ICICI Bank at a share exchange ratio of 25 shares of ICICI Bank for 118 shares of Bank of Rajasthan. The shareholders of ICICI Bank and Bank of Rajasthan approved the scheme of amalgamation at their respective extra-ordinary general meetings.RBI approved the scheme of amalgamation with effect from close of business on August 12, 2010. We have issued 31. 3 million shares in August 2010 and 2. 9 million shares in November 2010 to shareholders of Bank of Rajasthan. The total assets of Bank of Rajasthan represented 4. 0% of total assets of ICICI Bank at August 12, 2010. At August 12, 2010, Bank of Rajasthan had total assets of Rs. 155. 96 billion, deposits of Rs. 134. 83 billion, loans of Rs. 65. 28 billion and investments of Rs. 70. 96 billion. It incurred a loss of Rs. 1. 02 billion in fiscal 2010.The results for fiscal 2011 include results of Bank of Rajasthan for the period from August 13, 2010 to March 31, 2011. The assets and liabilities of Bank of Rajasthan have been acc ounted at the values at which they were appearing in the books of Bank of Rajasthan at August 12, 2010 and provisions were made for the difference between the book values appearing in the books of Bank of Rajasthan and the fair value as determined by ICICI Bank. The amalgamation was part of our strategy to expand our branch network with a view to growing our deposit base.We believe that the combination of Bank of Rajasthan's branch franchise with our strong capital base would enhance the ability of the combined entity to capitalise on the growth opportunities in the Indian economy. Total assets increased by 11. 8% from Rs. 3,634. 00 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 4,062. 34 billion at March 31, 2011. Total deposits increased by 11. 7% from Rs. 2,020. 17 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 2,256. 02 billion at March 31, 2011. Current and savings account (CASA) deposits increased by 20. 7% from Rs. 842. 6 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 1,016. 47 billion at March 31, 2011 while term de posits increased marginally from Rs. 1,178. 01 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 1,239. 55 billion at March 31, 2011. The ratio of CASA deposits to total deposits increased from 41. 7% at March 31, 2010 to 45. 1% at March 31, 2011. Total advances increased by 19. 4% from Rs. 1,812. 06 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 2,163. 66 billion at March 31, 2011 primarily due to an increase in domestic corporate loans, overseas corporate loans and loans taken over from Bank of Rajasthan.Net non- performing assets decreased by 37. 0% from Rs. 39. 01 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 24. 58 billion at March 31, 2011 and the net non-performing asset ratio decreased from 1. 9% at March 31, 2010 to 0. 9% at March 31, 2011. We continued to expand our branch network in India. Our branch network in India increased from 1,707 branches and extension counters at March 31, 2010 to 2,529 branches and extension counters at March 31, 2011. We also increased our ATM network from 5,219 ATMs at March 31, 2010 to 6,104 ATMs at March 31, 2011.These include branches and ATMs of Bank of Rajasthan. The total capital adequacy ratio of ICICI Bank on a standalone basis at March 31, 2011 in accordance with the RBI guidelines on Basel II was 19. 5% with a tier I capital adequacy ratio of 13. 2% compared to a total capital adequacy of 19. 4% and tier I capital adequacy of 14. 0% at March 31, 2010 Average advances increased marginally from Rs. 1,915. 39 billion in fiscal 2010 to Rs. 1,926. 52 billion in fiscal 2011 which includes advances taken over from Bank of Rajasthan. Retail advances increased by 5. % from Rs. 790. 62 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 836. 75 billion at March 31, 2011. In US dollar terms, the net advances of overseas branches increased by 22. 8% from US$ 10. 1 billion at March 31, 2010 to US$ 12. 4 billion at March 31, 2011. In rupee terms, the net advances of overseas branches increased by 22. 1% from Rs. 451. 37 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 550. 97 billion at March 31, 2011. Payments to and provisions for employees Employee expenses increased by 46. 3% from Rs. 19. 26 billion in fiscal 2010 to Rs. 28. 17 billion in fiscal 2011.Employee expenses increased primarily due to addition of employees of Bank of Rajasthan, annual increase in salaries and provision for payment of performance bonus and performance- linked retention pay during the period and increase in the employee base, including sales executives, employees on fixed term contracts and interns, from 41,068 employees at March 31, 2010 to 56,969 employees at March 31, 2011 (including employees of Bank of Rajasthan). Tax expense The income tax expense (including wealth tax) increased by 22. 0% from Rs. 13. 20 billion in fiscal 2010 to Rs. 16. 10 billion in fiscal 2011.The effective tax rate of 23. 8% in fiscal 2011 was lower compared to the effective tax rate of 24. 7% in fiscal 2010 primarily due to change in mix of taxable profits with a higher component of exempt income in the current fiscal year and tax benefits from the amalgamation of Bank of Rajasthan. The total assets increased by 11. 8% from Rs. 3,634. 00 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 4,062. 34 billion at March 31, 2011 (including Rs. 155. 96 billion of Bank of Rajasthan at August 12, 2010), primarily due to increase in investments and advances. Investments increased by 11. 4% from Rs. 1,208. 3 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 1,346. 86 billion at March 31, 2011. The net advances increased by 19. 4% from Rs. 1,812. 06 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 2,163. 66 billion at March 31, 2011. Investments Total investments increased by 11. 4% from Rs. 1,208. 93 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 1,346. 86 billion at March 31, 2011 (including Rs. 70. 96 billion of Bank of Rajasthan at August 12, 2010), primarily due to an increase in investment in corporate bonds and debentures by Rs. 125. 1 1 billion, RIDF and other related investments in lieu of shortfall in directed lending requirements by Rs. 49. 0 billion (including Rs. 21. 34 billion of Bank of Rajasthan at August 12, 2010) and investments in commercial paper and certificate of deposits by Rs. 31. 21 billion. The investment in pass- through certificates decreased by Rs. 15. 93 billion at March 31, 2011 compared to March 31, 2010. At March 31, 2011, we had an outstanding net investment of Rs. 28. 31 billion in security receipts issued by asset reconstruction companies in relation to sale of non-performing assets compared to Rs. 33. 94 billion at March 31, 2010. At March 31, 2011, we had a gross portfolio of funded credit derivatives of Rs. 0. 60 billion and non-funded credit derivatives of Rs. 28. 17 billion, which includes Rs. 0. 22 billion as protection bought by us. Advances Net advances increased by 19. 4% from Rs. 1,812. 06 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 2,163. 66 billion at March 31, 2011 primarily due to increase in domestic corporate loans, overseas corporate loans and loans taken over from Bank of Rajasthan amounting to Rs. 65. 28 billi on at August 12, 2010. Net retail advances increased by 5. 8% from Rs. 790. 62 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 836. 75 billion at March 31, 2011.In rupee terms, net advances of overseas branches (including offshore banking unit) increased by 22. 1% from Rs. 451. 37 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 550. 97 billion at March 31, 2011. Fixed and other assets Fixed assets increased by 47. 7% from Rs. 32. 13 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 47. 44 billion at March 31, 2011 (including Rs. 5. 15 billion of Bank of Rajasthan at August 12, 2010) primarily due to part capitalisation of the Bank's new building in Hyderabad and increase in the branch network and other offices. Other assets decreased by 14. 9% from Rs. 192. 15 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 163. 8 billion at March 31, 2011. Total liabilities (including capital and reserves) increased by 11. 8% from Rs. 3,634. 00 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 4,062. 34 billion at March 31, 2011 (including Rs. 155. 96 billion of Bank of Rajas than at August 12, 2010), primarily due to an increase in deposits and borrowings. Deposits increased from Rs. 2,020. 17 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 2,256. 02 billion at March 31, 2011. Deposits Deposits increased by 11. 7% from Rs. 2,020. 17 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 2,256. 02 billion at March 31, 2011 (including Rs. 134. 83 billion of Bank of Rajasthan at August 12, 2010).Term deposits increased from Rs. 1,178. 01 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 1,239. 55 billion at March 31, 2011 (including Rs. 88. 02 billion of Bank of Rajasthan at August 12, 2010), while savings deposits increased from Rs. 532. 18 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 668. 69 billion at March 31, 2011 (including Rs. 34. 48 billion of Bank of Rajasthan at August 12, 2010) and current deposits increased from Rs. 309. 98 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 347. 78 billion at March 31, 2011 (including Rs. 12. 32 billion of Bank of Rajasthan at August 12, 2010). Total deposits at March 31, 2011 formed 67. % of the funding (i. e. deposits and borrowings, other than preference share capital). During fiscal 2010 and fiscal 2011, we focussed on our strategy of increasing the share of current and savings account deposits in total deposits and re-balancing our funding mix. The current and savings account deposits increased from Rs. 842. 16 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 1,016. 47 billion at March 31, 2011 (including Rs. 46. 80 billion of Bank of Rajasthan at August 12, 2010) and the ratio of current and savings account deposits to total deposits increased from 41. 7% at March 31, 2010 to 45. % at March 31, 2011. Total liabilities (including capital and reserves) increased by 11. 8% from Rs. 3,634. 00 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 4,062. 34 billion at March 31, 2011 (including Rs. 155. 96 billion of Bank of Rajasthan at August 12, 2010), primarily due to an increase in deposits and borrowings. Deposits increased from Rs. 2,020. 17 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 2,256. 02 billion at March 31, 2011. Deposits Deposits increased by 11. 7% from Rs. 2,020. 17 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 2,256. 02 billion at March 31, 2011 (including Rs. 134. 83 billion of Bank of Rajasthan at August 12, 2010).Term deposits increased from Rs. 1,178. 01 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 1,239. 55 billion at March 31, 2011 (including Rs. 88. 02 billion of Bank of Rajasthan at August 12, 2010), while savings deposits increased from Rs. 532. 18 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 668. 69 billion at March 31, 2011 (including Rs. 34. 48 billion of Bank of Rajasthan at August 12, 2010) and current deposits increased from Rs. 309. 98 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 347. 78 billion at March 31, 2011 (including Rs. 12. 32 billion of Bank of Rajasthan at August 12, 2010). Total deposits at March 31, 2011 formed 67. % of the funding (i. e. deposits and borrowings, other than preference share capital). During fiscal 2010 and fiscal 2011, we focussed on our strategy of increasing the share of current and savings account deposits in total deposits and re-balancing our funding mix. The current and savings account deposits increased from Rs. 842. 16 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 1,016. 47 billion at March 31, 2011 (including Rs. 46. 80 billion of Bank of Rajasthan at August 12, 2010) and the ratio of current and savings account deposits to total deposits increased from 41. 7% at March 31, 2010 to 45. 1% at March 31, 2011.Equity share capital and reserves Equity share capital and reserves increased from Rs. 516. 18 billion at March 31, 2010 to Rs. 550. 91 billion at March 31, 2011 (including statutory reserve of Rs. 2. 00 billion taken over from Bank of Rajasthan at August 12, 2010) primarily due to allotment of shares to the shareholders of Bank of Rajasthan and annual accretion to reserves out of profit. Excess of paid-up value of equity shares issued over the fair value of the net assets acquired in the amalgamation and amalgamation expenses, amounting to Rs. 2. 10 billion hav e been adjusted against the securities premium account.