What is the Role of Financial Strategy within an Organization Assignment

What is the Role of Financial Strategy within an Organization - Assignment Example Within the organization, the different functions compete for the resources. Organizations have to adopt certain financial strategies in order for it to optimize resources that are available for use (Sanwal, 2008). Once the internal allocation is taken cared of, the company can focus on other aspects of the organization to achieve growth. An organization is faced with the dilemma in choosing which finance strategy would best suit their corporate structure. Will it be to adopt a financial strategy driven towards greater efficiency or towards better management of the organization as a whole It is ideal and optimal to achieve both and when an organization is able to do so then it can focus efforts on the remaining functions. Some organizations have tried to standardize the established financial system to be able to replicate the system and apply it in the global spectrum. Many organizations have tried to focus on the enhancement of the financial function to achieve greater efficiency in the bigger picture. To be able to maintain their global positions and to determine which strategies best suit the company, these organizations do the benchmark. Benchmarking is a flexible tool in management which can be used in the various functions of an organization. Companies do industry scans and assess the strengths of their competitors (Ruth, 2006). They use these assessments to determine which areas are weak in their own organizations, which functions need to be given attention and what measures are to be taken to implement changes if there are any. In the organization's venture towards being cost-efficient and at the same time globally competitive, it encounters various problems along the way and it must take note of various risks consequent with the implementation of financial strategies that it has decided to implement. Some points and important matters that the organization has to take into account before deciding which strategy to use are the current corporate structure and the system of the organization. Corporate structure helps determine which processes best contribute to the organization's growth and development. The flexibility of the corporate structure is also very vital especially now in the current dynamic industries we have (Sanwal, 2008). For systems, in an industry scan done by SAP, the two systems that place great weights on finance are transaction processing and decision support system (Patel-Muellers, 2006). Though companies want to focus on decision support and management, they are in truth spending their time on transaction processing. However, progress is little by little evident in the efficiency of the companies' processes as they journey towards being more strategic. Â  

Pidgins and Creoles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pidgins and Creoles - Essay Example One important point raised is the language age. The creole language which can be termed as the mother of languages as that is where language originated from has been in existence for centuries and hence it is considered as old language. The rest of the languages have recently been created and they keep on evolving as time goes by. They can therefore not be categorized the same as the Creole language. The more recent the language evolved, the younger it is. The other issue raised is about the evolution of languages from simple to more complicated ones. The creole language was very simple in terms of grammar and writing but as it evolved, it became much more complicated as well as organized. This is an indication that evolution of language can be equated to evolution of organisms which as they evolve become much more organized and less simple to understand as well as write (DeGraff, 2001). The article was indeed an education lesson for me. I had very little prior knowledge of the creol es and more so their huge input in language. My understanding was based on the literature that their language has simple grammar and issue that still remained under debate from linguists but none offered elaborate explanations about them. I am now in a better position having understood about the how the Creoles’ language simplicity and its maintenance of origin has made it a highly researched and subject of reference in as far as evolution of language is concerned. I am able to understand that the fact that their language has not undergone.

An Essay on Loss and Grief

An Essay on Loss and Grief Choose one event on loss and construct an academic essay supported by relevant academic sources INTRODUCTION This essay explores my experience of loss and grief after the death of my father in 1997 and how my grieving process relates to theories put forward to explain and deal with bereavement. Hall (2014) suggests that loss and grief are fundamental to human life..Harvey (1998) perceives loss as a life experience relating to something irreversible and emotions towards what is lost. Hall (2014) defines grief as the response to the loss in its totality – including its physical, emotional, cognitive, behavioural and spiritual manifestations – and as a natural and normal reaction to loss. It has been argued that in order to understand grief it is important to understand the role of attachment. Mallon (2008) observed that in order to have loss there must be attachment. As a result many theories of attachment play a major role in bereavement counseling. Bowlby (1980) emphasised the role of attachment in relationships. He suggests that a childs emotional growth will be compromised i f the child does not have attachment to a significant other person. The consequences can be that the individual may have difficulties connecting with others. This essay will first explore some of the salient theories on grief and bereavement. Secondly, a discussion of my experiences grieving my fathers death drawing on some key elements of bereavement theories will follow. Finally, a summary of the discussion will conclude the essay. THEORIES OF BEREAVEMENT AND LOSS Freud (1953 – 1974) was the first major contributor to the theory of grief. His theory stressed that grieving individuals search for an attachment that has been lost. His work involved the process of breaking the links that bonded the survivor to the deceased. He identified three elements namely: Freeing the bereaved from the bondage to the deceased Readjustment to life without the deceased Building new relationships. Parkes (1971, 1996) argued that Freuds concept of grief was useful in considering grief to be part of a rebuilding process which he calls psychosocial transition. Freud (1953-1974) argued that the grieving experience for the bereaved requires that they acknowledge their separation from the deceased by going through a process that includes painful emotions of guilt and anger. Furthermore, these emotions must be expressed. Key to Freuds approach was the idea that if the bereaved failed to work with or complete their grief work, then the grieving process would become complicated and compromise recovery. This model stresses the importance of moving on as quickly as possible in order to return to normal functioning. Influenced by Freud (1953-1974), several grief theorists including Kà ¼bler Ross (1969), Bowlby (1980) and Parkes Weiss (1983) conceptualised grief as a process of predictable phases and tasks. One of the most recognised was Kà ¼bler Ross (1969), who proposed the five-stage model that constituted the following stages: Shock and denial Anger Resentment and guilt Bargaining Depression and Acceptance. The model insists that failure to complete the stages would result in acute mental health complications. Hall (2014) argues that the stage theories were popular because they suggest a sense of conceptual order while offering hope of recovery and closure. Despite their popularity, most stage theories attracted criticism in the same way that Freuds proposition attracted criticism for their lack of empirical evidence and their rigidity. Furthermore, the stage theories have been challenged for their inability to capture the complex, diverse and multi-faceted nature of the grieving experience. Baxter and Diehl (1998) argue that since grief is considered to be fluid, it is unlikely that individuals are able to go through the stages in a methodical manner as advocated by the stage theorists. In short, they do not take account of factors such as the physical, psychological, social, cultural and spiritual needs that impact on the bereaved people, their families and intimate networks (Hall 201 4). Despite these criticisms, early stage theories have provided great groundwork and influence on current theories such as the Dual-Processing theory developed by Stroebe and Schut (1999) and Worden (2008). Hall (2014) argues that these theories take account of many of the risks and protective factors identified by research and provide an important context for appreciating the idiosyncratic nature of attachment to the deceased that is lacking in the earlier stage theories. Both models provide frameworks that guide intervention. Richardson and Balaswamy (2001), when evaluating the Dual Processing Model, suggested that avoiding grief can have both positive and negative outcomes. They proposed that this is where bereavement is perceived as including Loss of Orientation and Restoration Orientation. The griever in the loss-orientation is preoccupied with emotions, yearning and ruminating about the deceased, whereas, restoration orientation involves taking over the responsibilities and the ro les undertaken by the deceased and making lifestyle changes, setting up a new identity without the deceased (Richardson, 2007; Bennett, 2010a). Worden (2008) suggests that grieving should be considered as an active process that involves engagement with four tasks: Accepting the reality of the loss Processing the pain of grief Adjusting to a world without the deceased (including both internal, external and spiritual adjustments) Finding an enduring connection with the deceased whilst embarking on a new life. To understand what the client is experiencing, Worden identified seven determinants that need to be considered: Who the person who died was The nature of the attachment to the deceased How the person died Historical antecedents Personality variables Social mediators Concurrent stressors EXPERIENCES OF GRIEF In discussing my grieving process, I am going to draw on Wordens (2008) four tasks indicated above. The seven determinants indicated above will be used to guide the discussion and interpret the experience utilising relevant theoretical perspectives. i. To accept the reality of the loss I was in the UK undertaking my nursing course when my father died in Zimbabwe from a sudden heart related problem. I was informed early in the morning soon after my brother received news of his death. Since I was living alone, I had to make several phone calls home to confirm his death and to ascertain how he died and establish why more was not done. I remember crying but the tears did not correspond to my emotions. For a long time I felt detached from my feelings. My emotions appeared to be bottled up and were difficult to release. My immediate response to the news reflects Bowlby and Parkes (1970)s proposed first stage of grief where the individual experiences numbness, shock, and denial. I had always dreaded the day my father would die. I remember pacing up and down my bedroom, feeling very alone and helpless. During one of the calls from my brother, he mentioned that he needed me there. That was the time that I realised that this was real. It was at this moment that I started to call friends and informing them of the news. I cannot remember most of what happened but I remember one of my friends took over and made the necessary travel arrangements and spoke to my family in Zimbabwe. I believe that I only accepted the loss much later when I found that I could not share with him that I had bought a beautiful house. I desperately needed his comments and praises. My letter with the surprise information and pictures was in the post box when he passed away. ii. To process the pain of grief I believe I experienced the pain of losing my father when I returned to the UK after going through three weeks of the funeral and other rituals related to death in my culture. The cultural rituals are a mixed bag of tears, laughter, praying, singing and sharing memories and kinship with the deceased. This, to a large extent, eased me into the grieving process. However, the real pain of his loss took place when I returned to the UK where I could grieve in private. I found myself avoiding friends and other associates. It was as if my identity had been taken away and that made me tearful. This echoes the suggestion by Caserta and Lund (1992) that the bereaved may have to redefine their identity. Prompting questions like Who am I now that I am no longer a daughter? Hall (2011) and Caserta and Lund (1992) suggest that this can set in motion a process of re-learning ourselves and the world. On reflection, friends and associates reminded me of the me that I had lost. The pain would come and go. I often cried on my own. The crying and anxiety concurs with Bowlbys proposition that loss of the affectional attachment results in emotional disturbances such as anxiety, crying and anger (Freeman, 2005). I experienced this for over a year and felt lost. Although functioning, I was no longer myself. I started having frequent dreams of my father and would look forward to going to bed where I could be with my father. iii. To adjust to a world without the deceased It is difficult to identify exactly when it was that I adjusted to a life without my father. It took a long time. Although we lived far from each other, my father played a major role in most of my decisions and reassurances. Two events contributed to my adjustment. Firstly, my mother encouraged me to register for a Masters course that I was talking myself out of. Suddenly, I saw my fathers qualities in her. The security and trust I had in my father had transferred to my mother. Secondly, crying uncontrollably at a church in the UK the day I received news that my brother had died in a car accident. On reflection I realised that although I was crying for the loss of my brother, I was also finally crying for my father. Taking over care for my brothers children added to the adjustment of living without my father. iv. Finding an enduring connection with the deceased whilst embarking on a new life Being ancestral believers, the bond between my late father and me remains but it manifests in a different form to the bond we had when he was alive. I believe that spiritually, my father and my forefathers protect me and help me achieve my ambitions by chasing away bad spirits and creating luck and opportunities for me. My family and I participate in cultural rituals in remembrance of him and our forefathers. Psychologically, my bond with my father remains as he continues to be my role model. As a result, I dedicate most of my achievements to him. This continued connection and perceived role played by my father 18 years after his death confirm Datson and Marwits (1997) argument that continued bonds with deceased can have positive outcomes. Therefore, letting go is not necessarily the requirement for successful grieving. According to Hall (2014) this idea represents recognition that death ends a life, not necessarily a relationship. CONCLUSION The discussion above illustrates that the theoretical perspectives of loss and bereavement have developed from emotional attachment to more holistic approaches. These theories not only carry on the influences of the early work focused on emotions and attachment but take account of the social, economic, cultural and spiritual needs experienced by bereaved people. Significantly, these theories do not center letting go as a requirement of successful grieving. On the contrary, a continued bond with the deceased can be positive. My experience largely confirmed the complexity of the grieving process. Some of the experiences indicated above confirmed some of the early theorists observations such as the emotional rollercoaster and the early stage theorists suggestions of shock in the early stages. I did not however experience the full stages of grieving in chronological order, and the experience was by no means quick. Factors such as my culture and spiritual beliefs contributed significantly to my grieving process and influenced the outcome of my continued bond with father. In view of this it can be argued that there is a place for the different approaches to loss and bereavement in supporting bereaved people. However, the multi-cultural society encouraged by globalisation requires that we take account of the wider aspects of the bereavement process. REFERENCES Baxter, E. A. and Diehl, S. (1998). Emotional stages: Consumers and family members recovering from the trauma of mental illness. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 21(4) Bennett, K. M. (2010a). You cant spend years with someone and just cast them aside: Augmented identity in older British widows. Journal of Women and Aging, 22, (3), 204-217 Bennett, K. M. (2010b). How to achieve resilience as an older widower: Turning points or gradual change? Ageing and Society, 30 (03), 369-382. Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss. Volume 3, Loss, sadness and depression. New York: Basic Books Bowlby, J. and Parkes, C. M. (1970). Separation and loss within the family. In E. J. Anthony C. Koupernik (Eds.), The child in his family: International Yearbook of Child Psychiatry and Allied Professions (pp. 197-216), New York: Wiley Caserta, M. S. and Lund D. A. (1992). Bereavement stress and coping among older adults: Expectations versus the actual experience. Omega, 25, 33-45. Datson, S. L. and Marwit, S. J. (1997). Personality constructs and perceived presence of deceased loved ones. Death Studies, 21 , 131 -146 Freud, S. (1953/1974). Mourning and melancholia. In J. Strachey (Trans.), The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (Vol. 14). London: Hogarth. (Original work published in 1917.) Freeman, S. (2005). Grief and Loss: Understanding the Journey. Belmont, CA: Thompson Brooks/ Cole. Hall, C. (2011). Beyond Kubler-Ross: Recent developments in our understanding of grief and bereavement.Retrieved June 19, 2015, from  http://www.psychology.org.au/publications/inpsych/2011/december/hall/ Hall, C, 2014. Bereavement theory: recent developments in our understanding of grief and bereavement, Bereavement Care, 33:1, 7-12, .Retrieved June 19, 2015, from:http://www.psychology.org.au/publications/inpsych/2011/december/hall/ Harvey J. H. (1998). Perspectives on Loss, a Sourcebook. Philadelphia, PA: Taylor and Francis Kà ¼bler-Ross, E. (1969). On death and dying . New York: Springer Mallon, B. (2008). Attachment and loss, death and dying. Theoretical foundations for bereavement counselling. In Praise for the Book: Dying, death and grief: Working with adult bereavement. (pp. 4-17). London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Parkes, C. M. (1971). Psycho-Social Transitions: A field for study. Social Science and Medicine, 5. 101-115 Parkes, C. M. (1996). Bereavement: Studies of Grief in Adult Life (3rd Ed.). London, London: Routledge Parkes C. M. and Weiss R. S. (1983). Recovery from bereavement. New York: Basic Books. Richardson, V. E. (2007). A dual process model of grief counseling: Findings from the Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC) studyJournal of Gerontological Social Work, 48 (3/4), 311-329. Richardson, V. E. and Balaswamy, S. (2001). Coping with bereavement among elderly widowers. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 43 (2), 129-144. Stroebe M. S. and Schut, H. (1999). The dual process model of coping with bereavement: rationale and description. Death Studies 23(3) 197-224. Worden J. W. (2008). Grief counseling and grief therapy: a handbook for the mental health practitioner (4th ed.). New York: Springer

Huxleys Brave New World Essay -- Huxley Brave New World Essays

Huxley's Brave New World Today, in 21st century United States, people are concerned with the fast pace of new and growing technology, and how these advances should be used. In the last decade alone we have seen major advancements in technology; in science, cloning has become a reality, newer, more powerful drugs have been invented and, in communications, the Internet has dominated society. There is a cultural lag due to the fast rate of increasing technology, and while the governments of the world are trying to keep up their role as censors and lawmakers, we as individuals are trying to comprehend the effects it has on our lives. Will these advances enhance our lives to an unprecedented level of comfort, or lead to the loss of actual happiness? In the early 1930's, when Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World, this was a question he felt was worth asking. In Huxley's Brave New World there are two forms of happiness: physical and actual. The fulfillment of physical happiness is the basis of the New World society. Residents never have to worry about food, shelter, job security, or sickness. One will never look fat, wrinkly or become weak with brittle bones and, thus, even the fear of growing old is taken away. Mustapha Mond, one of the world controllers in the novel, sums up physical happiness with the statement: ?The world is stable now?They?re well off; They?re safe; They are never ill; they?re not afraid of death; they?re blissfully ignorant of passion and old age(Huxley 220). The characters, Bernard Marx, Lenina Crowne, and Helmholtz Watson are each looking for more than what is offered by physical happiness, they are looking for actual happiness. Actual happiness ?relates more to the mind and heart? (HH Dalai Lama 21). For example, Helmholtz has the desire to be creative and Lenina has the desire to love. Bernard Marx, knowing that he is different and considered inferior to other Alpha-plus males, has the desire to not only fit in, but to be respected by others. Other individuals in the Brave New World are content while these three characters are searching for something not given to them by the government, something beyond physical happiness. They are searching for actual happiness. Individuality, which is one of the strongest values in the United States today, is taken away at the moment of conception in the B... ...e a prophetic tone seventy years after it was written. Our society?s priorities, like the one in the Brave New World, seem to be quite shallow in its obsession with physical appearance and conspicuous consumption of material objects. People undergo surgery to improve their appearance and maintain their youthful image of themselves. People, generally, judge others as well as themselves by their possessions, status, and appearance, rather than the quality of their character. Cloning is no longer science fiction, and with increasing technology, the absolute need for mothers and fathers could disappear. At what point does social stability outweigh human nature? There needs to be a balance between physical and actual happiness, and where the proper balance should be is questionable. Huxley doesn?t have the answer, but he leaves the reader with an idea of why balance is so hard to find: ?Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the overcompensations for misery? (Huxley 221). WORKS CITED: Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: HarperCollins, 1998. Lama, HH Dalai. The Art of Happiness. London: Hoddler and Straughton, 1999.

Human Population Growth

The two types of population growth of any species are exponential growth and logistic population growth (Simon, Reece and Dickey, 2010). Exponential population growth is defined as the rate of which a population grows constantly over a period of time resultant of continuous birth rate and ideal environmental conditions. In other words, the quality and quantity of resources is available at an overall higher standard, (Otherwise, 2012). The second type of population growth is logistic population growth. Most environments do not have unlimited resources. Limiting factors such as â€Å"carrying capacity† come into play. Carrying capacity is an environment that sustains a maximum population size (Simon, Reece and Dickey, 2010). When the population size begins to reach carrying capacity, there is a decrease in growth rate. When the population size is at its maximum for carrying capacity, it yields a zero growth rate (Simon, Reece and Dickey, 2010). As the population grows it can cause a number of serious problems such as food-scarcity, overcrowding, poverty, increased consumption, excess waste, and exploitation of natural resources such as land, water, fossil fuels, and vegetation. The combined effects of population growth, consumption, overuse, wastage and misuse of resources will strain the capacity of the earth to sustain life (Simon, Reece and Dickey, 2010). Human population exceeding its natural resources will limit access to basic needs such as adequate housing from overcrowded areas as lack of space will become evident. Building materials require resources such as timber from forests which results in deforestation. Means of transport require more consumption of fossil fuels, thus pollution of air, land and water result from greenhouse gas emissions. Scarcity of food and potable water will incur as more mouths to feed require agricultural production, also a result in deforestation, thus the need for increased water usage, and the application of pesticides and fertilizers that make the soil infertile and water scarce and non-potable. Generation of waste increase will require critical attention to proper waste management in order to prevent the spread of disease or epidemics (Simon, Reece and Dickey, 2010). Population will rise most rapidly in places least able to handle it, developing nations where hunger, political instability and environmental degradation are already pervasive (Otherwise, 2012). Massive efforts are in great need to keep social and economic conditions from deteriorating further. When the number in population exceeds the natural resources available to sustain it, there will be a profound effect on the overall quality of life and the degree of human suffering on Earth.

Diesel Campaign

In today’s society there is a strong emphasis on prudent, well thought out, decision making. It is often against social norms to act on impulse. Society also affects the way one thinks, making each person self-conscious and self-aware of his surroundings. This helps him become more wary of his actions, disallowing (for the most part) uninhibited actions and reactions. However, Diesel, a clothing company, indulges the average day citizen to â€Å"Be stupid. According to Diesel’s manifesto, which can be accessed through YouTube, this campaign suggests the stupidity of being â€Å"smart,† and emphasizes the need to be â€Å"stupid† (â€Å"The Official Be Stupid Philosophy†). Through the use of vibrant colors and fonts and the provocative and chauvinistic nature of the ad, Diesel is truly able to convey its sense of stupidity. Diesel has many advertisements that are under the â€Å"Be Stupid† campaign. They all use the power of shock to capture the audience’s attention. What could be bolder than encouraging stupidity?What the audience will notice first is the vibrant colors. The message is written in a neon yellow that easily captures attention. The border matches the message and it immediately grabs the audience’s attention. The blanket on which the girl is lying is multicolored and eye-popping. The vibrant colors will allow the reader to stop in the middle of the magazine to look at the ad for a moment. What’s more interesting is the message that is in bold in the left hand corner. It reads, â€Å"You’ll spend more time with your boss. This is written in all bold and all capitals. The physical appearance of the message is already attention-grabbing enough, but if that wasn’t enough, the message itself is crazy. It’s crazy in the sense that it goes against all of society’s conventions. Having any type of relationship with a coworker, let alone a boss, is usually frowned up on in most offices. A â€Å"wise† thinker would know not to venture into that area, but one who goes with what he is feeling, uninhibited, would not have a problem â€Å"spending more time† with a boss.By making a controversial statement, Diesel is able to appeal to the audience, especially to the younger generation. However, this controversial statement promotes promiscuity and unintelligent responses to everyday situations. Not only is the tone of the quote provocative, but the photograph itself is also quite suggestive. It shows a topless woman lying in bed with a topless man. The woman is looking straight at the audience, with a grin shamelessly tacked onto her face. A blanket covers the man’s face, and it seems as if he is not even awake yet.His arm also rests on top of the woman’s body. It is implied that the two have slept together. It is also implied that in this case, the man is the boss, while the woman is the one who is â€Å"[being] stupid. à ¢â‚¬  In the photograph, it seems as if the woman is in control of the situation, since she is awake with the smile on her face, looking directly at the camera. In fact, she is portrayed as the one taking advantage of the male, when it is usually the opposite in society. Though this may seem empowering, it holds women in a negative light.Not only is the female not the boss, she is the one using the male in order to â€Å"be stupid. † This is degrading to women, even though it may not initially seem like it. The advertisement seems to be saying that girls should â€Å"be stupid,† and that intelligence is unimportant. It promotes girls acting foolishly and doing irrational things like sleeping with a boss. Is this what Diesel wants the future of the younger female population to be? If so, it is quite chauvinistic and deprecating to the many advancements females have made throughout history.This picture juxtaposed with the slogan encourages women to be licentious and to disregard ethics. The â€Å"Be Stupid† campaign has much potential in carrying a positive meaning. It encourages people to occasionally step out of their realms of comfort, and to be a little bit bold and daring every now and then. This can be a positive message because without taking risks, people will not be able to succeed. It is not always good to be uninhibited, however; there are certain limitations as to how impulsive one can be.The issue is that Diesel’s campaign puts no boundaries as to how â€Å"stupid† one can and should be and just suggests people to act as savages. â€Å"Be Stupid† also suffers due to the poor word choice, along with the risque advertisements; it only appeals to the immature and undeveloped, and manipulates their malleable minds into believing that â€Å"spending more time with your boss† and being â€Å"stupid† is acceptable. Diesel should stop being â€Å"stupid† and be more conscious of the message the y send.

An Online Degree Out of High School Essays

An Online Degree Out of High School Essays An Online Degree Out of High School Essay An Online Degree Out of High School Essay Essay Topic: High School Much has been said as of late about the Internet and the many things that it offers in terms of educational options. Colleges and universities – catching on to the growing popularity of the Internet and their need to stay competitive with students that are facing non-traditional situations – are now offering online degree programs, where their students can pursue their education through the computer. This has opened up the world of higher education considerably for those who may not have the time or inclination to travel to and from a traditional campus and sit in a classroom; or those who live too far away from their college of choice. For older students who are already ensconced in their career or are raising a family they may choose to pursue an online degree to accommodate their need for flexibility. But while an online degree program is perfect for those non-traditional students that are in many different stages in their life, it is also quite suitable for those who have just graduated from high school and would normally go on to a traditional college or university. The reality is that even just out of high school some students are facing situations where they require significant flexibility and an online degree program allows that to happen. With an online degree program, students – even those just out of high school – can work online at their own pace and to best suit their schedule. Registered students can logon to the college’s website where they can complete reading, do their assignments, chat with their professor or classmates, and even take quizzes and exams. An online degree program is just the same as a traditional degree program at any college or university; the only difference is the logistics of how the class is attended. But this non-traditional method of earning a degree opens a world of possibility for those in need of a little flexibility.

How to Write an Incredibly Compelling Synopsis in 4 Simple Steps

How to Write an Incredibly Compelling Synopsis in 4 Simple Steps How to Write a Synopsis Agents Will Notice Your novel is fully written, edited, and polished to perfection - you’re ready to pitch it to agents! But you’re missing a critical piece of persuasion: the synopsis. Even after putting together your entire book, you may have no idea how to write one, or even how to approach it.Luckily, we’ve got answers for you. Read on for our best tips on writing a synopsis that’s clear, concise, captivating†¦ and may even lead to an all-out agent battle over your novel! How to write a masterful synopsis in just 4 steps #itslit What is a synopsis?A synopsis is a summary of a book that familiarizes the reader with the plot and how it unfolds. Although these kinds of summaries also appear on the pages of school book reports and Wikipedia, this guide will focus on constructing one that you can send out to agents (and eventually publishers).Your novel synopsis should achieve two things: firstly, it should convey the contents of your book, and secondly, it should be intriguing!While you don’t need to pull out all the marketing stops at this stage, you should have a brief hook at the beginning and a sense of urgency underlying the text that will keep your reader going. It should make potential agents want to devour your whole manuscript  -   even though they’ll already know what happens.While writing your synopsis, make sure that it includes:A complete narrative arcYour own voice and unique elements of your storyThe ending or resolution (unlike in a blurb)As for the ideal length for this piece, it varies from project to project. Some authors recommend keeping it to 500 words, while others might write thousands. However, the standard range is about one to two single-spaced pages (or two to five double-spaced pages). Do you have any tips for writing an irresistible synopsis? Leave them in the comments below!

A Babel of Tongues †The Dialectic of Communication and Solitude in Virginia Woolf

A Babel of Tongues – The Dialectic of Communication and Solitude in Virginia Woolf Virginia Woolf’s answer to Mr. Ramsay’s philosophical pursuits in To the Lighthouse is a reconciliation of both worlds – subjective perception and interpretation, and external objectivity. The first chapter of the novel is entitled â€Å"The Window,† and serves to represent the point of contact between subjective and objective states. This, Woolf believes to be our reality. External facts are arbitrary and meaningless until they are apprehended by a subjective state which gives them form; on a social level, communicating as a participant in society exposes the individual to an incoherent tumult of impressions that have to be reorganized into a coherent whole in solitude. Only then can one achieve peace. The individual is hence continually in search of an equilibrium in the dialectic of communication and solitude. Peter Walsh summarizes this concept in Mrs. Dalloway: For this is the truth about our soul†¦our self, who, fish-like inhabits deep seas and plies among obscurities†¦suddenly she shoots to the surface and sports on the wind-wrinkled waves; that is, has a positive need to brush, scrape, kindle herself, gossiping. However, to re-enter society as a participant entails at least a partial suspension of one’s subjectively constructed reality. Creative organisation is forfeited, and the â€Å"infinite richness† of life that Peter experienced a moment ago gives way to anxiety and a sense that events are spiraling out of one’s control. The city appears to be â€Å"floating off in a carnival,† and the febrile party of life – â€Å"the flare and the glare† – becomes lurid and chaotic. The coherent whole fragments and becomes meaningless isolated elements of reality that wash past Peter in an incomprehensible manner: â€Å"the cold stream of visual impressions failed him now as if the eye were a cup that overflowed and let the rest run down its china walls unrecorded.† The consequence of this is that â€Å"the brain must wake now†¦the soul must brave itself to endure.† Previously, as an invisible flà ¢neur amidst the bustling city, Peter could relax his mind to appreciate the myriad impressions of London life. To join the party would entail shedding invisibility and arresting these mental excursions in order to function socially. He takes out his pocketknife again, as he did when he first went to see Clarissa in the morning. T.E Apter suggests that the pocketknife is â€Å"a tool with which to pare down his perceptions, to preen his identity, and to defend himself against others’ views.† This is observed in Peter Walsh’s proleptic defense constructed in his thoughts against society’s voice, including Clarissa’s. He defends himself against the labels â€Å"Socialist† and â€Å"failure,† asserting that the future of civilization lies in the â€Å"hands of young men like[himself],† a nd diminishes Clarissa’s negative opinions of him by suggesting that she is superficial and snobbish. While Apter feels that Peter Walsh’s pocketknife is not a â€Å"worn-out masculine symbol,† Peter’s self-defensive maneuvers are undeniably offensive. Watching Peter handle his pocketknife, Clarissa imaginatively formulates his self-defense as revealed in his interior monologue – that she was â€Å"frivolous; empty minded; a mere chatterbox.† His self-defense invariably becomes an attack – interaction and communication hence turn into a battleground. Clarissa retaliates â€Å"like a Queen whose guards have fallen sleep and left her unprotected,† and â€Å"summoned to her help the things she did; the things she liked; her husband; Elizabeth; her self, in short†¦to come about her and beat off the enemy (my italics).† Her self, violated by misrepresentation, seeks to validate itself and emerges as the â€Å"indomitable egotism† that safeguards her vanity by overriding Peter’s claims. As a result, both Peter and C larissa â€Å"challenge each other† as in a â€Å"battle.† Clarissa validates her identity through external indicators – â€Å"the things she did; the things she liked; her husband; Elizabeth.† This is because a pattern of symbolic interpretation preexists the objects she names. Husband, daughter and hobbies can therefore be used as symbols representing success and felicity to vindicate Clarissa’s choices in life and challenge Peter’s position. However, these external indicators often make reductive summaries of their characters that they would not accept so easily in solitude. Clarissa chooses to define herself in these terms insofar as they offer her protection against Peter’s accusations; they cannot, however, fully represent her essential being, which explains â€Å"the feeling†¦of dissatisfaction† she often experiences of â€Å"not knowing people; not being known.† On the other hand, using social language to â€Å"preen one’s identity† does scale down the task of defend ing oneself against the whole of society into manageable proportions. One tactic Peter employs is in reproducing the external indicators imposed upon him in a dismissive tone (hence â€Å"preening his identity†), as he does later during the party. This subverts the significance of the criticisms and places him in a more enviable light than the term â€Å"failure† would normally allow. This is done without necessitating a head-on battle against society’s rather ill-founded impositions and labels – a task which would only make him appear insecure and, indeed, even more of a â€Å"failure.† Another means of self-defense is to appeal to another set of external indicators, which Peter does in response to Clarissa’s attack. He draws upon his â€Å"praise; his career at Oxford; his marriage† and tackles society’s implicit criticisms with another implicit social argument, and hence simultaneously defends and misrepresents himself. When one is alone, the self is relieved of the tedious tasks of self-defense and self-validation. The individual is allowed his own subjective understanding of events passing in the world and meets no resistance in his interpretation. Peter, upon leaving Clarissa, can therefore criticize her as having â€Å"something cold,† â€Å"a sort of timidity which in middle age becomes conventionality,† without facing Clarissa’s offensive self-defense. These criticisms are individual interpretations and are expressed in terms that are more subjective and descriptive, though less peremptory (which reduces their defensive power) than the predetermined arguments implicit in reductive and generalized social indicators. While these interpretations would afford a more meaningful debate, their lack of defensive power causes them to be eschewed on social battlegrounds where the more imperious external indicators are favoured. Only in solitude is Peter able to organize a more meani ngful representation of reality based on his own subjective interpretation of the events around him. Social language can be seen to impose frameworks of identity on characters, denying them the validity of their subjectively construed self-representations. It is this imposition of identity that characters in The Hours find unbearable. Cunningham describes his text as a â€Å"riff† on Mrs. Dalloway. Faithfully enough, his text is informed by the same theories of identity as a fluid concept as is seen in Woolf, where the self is constantly foiled and resurrected in an etiology concerning identity shaped by communication and solitude. Richard feels that the party could go on â€Å"with the idea of [him].† His self identity has been subsumed into facile social categorization, and he is defined as the tragic and sick artist who writes â€Å"weird book[s].† It is for this reason that he feels he â€Å"got a prize for [his] performance†¦for having AIDS and going nuts and being brave about it.† The external indicators – his sickness and his lengthy book – once again triumph over the true qualities of the self, here partially represented by the actual contents of his work, which nobody seems to understand. Laura Brown likens her anxieties about meeting her husband to the feeling one gets when â€Å"about to go onstage and perform in a play for which [one] is not appropriately dressed, and for which [one] has not adequately rehearsed.† She is acutely aware of the disparity between her self-perceived identity and the identity society has constructed for her, which she has to assume. She finds social identity – â€Å"the inchoate, tumbling thing known as herself, a mother, a driver† – superficial and meaningless, and liberates herself from the constraints of being a wife in a perfect home by escaping into a hotel. She experiences there â€Å"a sensation of deep and buoyant release,† which is the solace of self-reconstruction in solitude. Having â€Å"slipped out of her life† and escaped social imposition, she experiences â€Å"a sensation of unbeing,† for she has just lost social definition. Formerly, the being and the living had been the existence defined by society – the meaningless performance. The dissolution of the social â€Å"I† in solitude allows her self to emerge and conceive how â€Å"it is possible to die,† how death has a â€Å"dreadful beauty.† The â€Å"neutral zone† of the hotel room is void of socially imposed reality, and it is there, for the first time, that L aura is able to understand the appeal of death. This appeal is Laura’s subjective interpretation of the world (and of death in particular), and is an interpretation that has thus far been suppressed by social definition. Her â€Å"patriotism† for her husband – her civic responsibility to remain by his side and uphold the social tenets of familial duties – previously made such an idea unthinkable. A more insidious aspect of social interaction and communication is highlighted in Mrs. Dalloway and is represented by the two â€Å"Goddesses† of â€Å"Proportion† and â€Å"Conversion.† These are essentially abstractions of social establishments that enforce definitions regarding moral, political, emotional, or aesthetic realities, and which are given a satirical mythological status. They â€Å"smite out of [the] way roughly the dissentient, or dissatisfied† and â€Å"bestow†¦blessing on those who†¦catch submissively from [their] eyes the light of their own,† asserting their blinkered positions to be the only truths. Hugh Whitbread, who kissed Sally Seton to â€Å"punish her for saying that women should have votes,† could be said to be an agent of â€Å"Proportion† and â€Å"Conversion.† He masquerades under the â€Å"venerable name† of â€Å"kindness† and does more harm than â€Å"the rascals who get h anged for battering the brains of a girl out in a train.† Having been converted, he becomes a proponent of the â€Å"Goddesses†: by embodying outward social perfection without real depth of character, he is empowered, under the aegis of society, to stifle imagination, creativity and understanding, and repudiates Sally’s self-conceived reality, which made only the very modest claim that equal voting opportunities are appropriate in a civic moral society. Michael Cunningham, in The Hours, examines Woolf’s â€Å"Proportion† and â€Å"Conversion† in the context of the homosexual identity. By transposing Woolf’s diegesis of anomie onto the postmodern constructionistic concepts of identity, Cunningham is able to intensify the paradoxical tensions concerning the need for validation of one’s subjective experiences and the longing for social acceptance and integration. Walter Hardy, desiring acceptance, succumbs to â€Å"Conversion.† He possesses physical health, wealth and happiness – the touchstones of social success – leaving not a trace of the â€Å"overweight, desperately friendly† child â€Å"able to calibrate the social standing of other ten-year-olds to the millimeter.† But by accepting society’s criteria for judging success, he affirms its truth. Richard is hence justified in saying that â€Å"eternally youthful gay men do more harm to the cause than do me n who seduce little boys.† At least in seducing little boys, these men are affirming their subjective life experiences (which are their homosexual attractions and emotions), whereas men like Hardy, by their outward subscription to the social norm and passive assimilation of society’s ideological truths, allow the cycle of self-invalidation to continue into the next generation, and end up as simulacra of the â€Å"boys who tortured them in high school,† becoming the very forces that convert other individuals into the â€Å"Proportions† of masculinity and success. Oliver St. Ives is another character that embodies â€Å"Proportion.† Sally remarks â€Å"how much Oliver resembles himself.† The Oliver as movie star is almost identical to the Oliver of real life. As a movie star his image on television is defined through popular appeal, through society’s ideals. That his private image should correspond so well with society’s golden standard reveals Oliver’s lack of true self-identity – â€Å"as if all other brawny, exuberant, unflinching American men were somehow copies of him.† He is the face of the American male. Characteristically, his movie panders to society’s â€Å"Proportion†: an action thriller with a guy â€Å"who saves the world, one way or another.† An additional caveat attached reveals that â€Å"this one would have a gay man for a hero.† Unfortunately, saying that â€Å"it’s not a big deal. He wouldn’t be tortured about his sexuality. He wouldn ’t have HIV† is once again to deny the homosexual experience, to insist homosexuals had â€Å"never been strange children, never taunted or despised,† and to reinforce the experiences of society’s heterosexual norm. As David Bergman points out in â€Å"Gaiety Transfigured: Gay Self-Representation in American Literature,† â€Å"the child who will become gay conceives his sexual self in isolation. I cannot think of another minority that is without cultural support in childhood.† This precarious identity developed in solitude is allowed to be stampeded by the need for social confirmation, and Oliver becomes the very force of â€Å"Conversion.† Sally’s anger with â€Å"every optimistic, dishonest being† who denies their subjectively construed identity in favour of society’s brutal misrepresentation is hence vindicated. Such are the perils immanent in social participation that make a retreat into solitude so appealing. â€Å"Our apparitions, the things you know us by, are simply childish† – here, Mrs. Ramsay recognizes that the self is inevitably distorted by and heavily concealed from society. Human relations are â€Å"flawed,† â€Å"despicable† and â€Å"self-serving at their best,† because people inevitably choose to understand the world in a manner most gratifying to one’s vanity. She relishes the solitude wherein â€Å"she needs[s] not think about anybody,† and needs not continually fight for self-validation. â€Å"Having shed its attachments,† her self is free to wander uninhibited, and â€Å"the range of experience seem limitless.† These â€Å"strangest adventures† are not merely Mrs. Ramsay’s escapist fantasies of traveling to Rome and India; they are life experiences that are reorganized and refashioned by the â₠¬Å"unlimited resources† within one, and which form a subjectively conceived coherence – â€Å"a summoning together, a resting on a platform of stability.† Society foists itself on the individual, and it is only through â€Å"losing personality† and escaping social participation – whether as mother, wife or host – that the external world is held back, enabling one to lose â€Å"the fret, the hurry, the stir† and create â€Å"this peace, this rest, this eternity† by and for oneself. In retreating into the â€Å"wedged-shape core of darkness† of her self, subjective experience seemingly overwhelms the external objective world and turns it into a self-referential mirror – â€Å"She (Mrs. Ramsay) became the thing she looked at.† This mirror affords â€Å"peace† because it is the expression of the â€Å"core of darkness,† the moi splanchnique. Seeing the self reflected on the face of the world lets i t conceive of a harmonious unity, as if the essential truths of reality are indeed within oneself. Woolf, however, as a lover of parties, maintained that communication with the external world is not only desirable, but also necessary. Septimus’ decline into solipsistic insanity corroborates the idea that â€Å"communication is health; communication is happiness.† Septimus may also be seen as Clarissa’s doppelgà ¤nger. The tragic force gathers him, the alienated individual, in its nihilist folds and leads him to a premature death just as the comic force in Clarissa repeatedly pulls her back into society’s embrace in an affirmation of the positive and the social order. Shell-shocked after the war, Septimus appears to repudiate the impositions of the objective world – the social and the external – and constructs a reality based almost exclusively on his thoughts and emotions. His preoccupation with Evans conjures up images of him with hardly any objective stimulus – he hears him sing and speak where there could only possibly be birds singing or people talking. The objective world is lost to him, and he reveals: â€Å"I went under the sea†¦ but let me rest still.† He has collapsed into himself; his reality implodes. â€Å"Under the sea† he stays immersed in his own self and society’s call for him to emerge is feverish, lurid and cacophonic: But let me rest still; he begged†¦and as, before waking, the voices of birds and the sound of wheels chime and chatter in a queer harmony, grow louder and louder and the sleeper feels himself drawing to the shores of life, so he felt himself drawing towards life, the sun growing hotter, cries sounding louder His â€Å"doom† was hence â€Å"to be alone forever.† By the end of the novel he turns away from life and his doctors who are â€Å"forcing (his) soul,† committing suicide to preserve â€Å"the thing†¦that mattered.† This is the self which is â€Å"wreathed about with chatter, defaced, obscured†¦let drop every day in corruption, lies, chatter.† â€Å"Closeness draws apart† because social language is inadequate. He cannot survive in this solitude and appealed to death for â€Å"death was an attempt to communicate.† Clarissa does come to intuit his self-identity in the solitude of her â€Å"little room† by imaginative recreation of his death, drawing material from her own experiences and emotions. She feels his â€Å"terror; the overwhelming incapacity,† the â€Å"indescribable outrage† of a â€Å"soul† being â€Å"forc[ed]† and experiences his death vicariously – â€Å"her dress flame d, her body burnt.† She appeals to her own understanding of the world, remembering how she once felt â€Å"if it were now to die, ’twere now to be most happy.† She seeps into Septimus’ consciousness thus by an empathetic subjective understanding. If Septimus’ death is a triumph against Time’s transience and an offering to the epiphanic moments of life, then Clarissa’s quote from â€Å"Othello† would be representative. In solitude, through these references to her subjective world she achieves communication with Septimus. Woolf thus presents a paradox of opposites which is developed further in To the Lighthouse. Lily Briscoe, the artist, finds that â€Å"distance had an extraordinary power.† Distance enables withdrawal from social participation. As she paints, Lily retreats into solitude, going â€Å"out and out†¦further and further, until one [she] seemed to be on a narrow plank, perfectly alone, over the sea,† in order to peer into â€Å"the chambers of the mind and heart† of Mrs. Ramsay. To understand the â€Å"sacred inscriptions† of Mrs. Ramsay’s soul, Lily has to rely on her subjective understanding of the people and places which completed her. As Clarissa Dalloway suggests, â€Å"to know†¦anyone, one must seek out the people who completed them; even the places.† It would hardly be conceivable to accomplish this mammoth task physically. Lily, however, is able to â€Å"make up scenes,† of which â€Å"not a word†¦was true.† While objectively speaking these events had never occurred they are nonetheless completely plau sible, extrapolated hypothetically based on one’s understanding of other people. Fiction, formed by the creative self, is hence a useful tool for exploring human responses to various situations and elucidating their characters. Lily realizes that â€Å"it was what she knew them by all the same,† and views and reviews Mrs. Ramsay from the subjective viewpoints of the Rayleys, of Mr. Carmichael, Mr. Bankes and the other Ramsays. She felt she needed â€Å"fifty pairs of eyes to see with† in order achieve reconciliation amongst the kaleidoscopic representations of Mrs. Ramsay, so that her portrait is not saturated with her limited perspective. Eventually, like Clarissa, she has to experience Mrs. Ramsay’s emotional and intellectual experiences vicariously to achieve understanding. â€Å"What did the hedge mean to her, what did the garden mean to her, what did it mean to her when a wave broke?† – all these questions Lily strives to answer through imaginative enactment of events. She eventually manages to apprehend the world through Mrs. Ramsay’s consciousness and her fear for Mr. Ramsay segues into love and need – â€Å"she wanted him.† This is probably one aspect of Mrs. Ramsay’s emotional response to her husband which Lily has never shared. In this rare instance of human communication, Lily achieves the same unity and peace that Mrs. Ramsay experienced with the lighthouse beam earlier on, for she had become, â€Å"like waters poured into one jar, inextricably the same, one with the object [Mrs. Ramsay] one [she] adored.† The mirror returns, and she solves Mr. Ramsay’s philosophical conundrum – the relationship between subjective and objective worlds – by creating a work of art that affirms the expression of the subjective self using material from the objective world. Her portrait is accurate for the â€Å"odd-shaped triangular shadow† corresponds with the â₠¬Å"wedge-shaped core of darkness† so essential to Mrs. Ramsay’s identity; the finishing stroke scored through the middle of the canvass is also reflective of the severance in human relationships that Mrs. Ramsay has always fought against. Lily, like Woolf herself, rejects the notion of art as mimesis. â€Å"To be on level with ordinary experience† is to experience the phantasmagoric flux of fact and dream, to interweave between objective reality and subjective organization of that reality. Her painting is hence a â€Å"razor edge balance between two opposite forces; Mr. Ramsay and the picture† – the uncompromising facts of objective reality embodied in Mr. Ramsay and Lily’s own subjective understanding of them come together, equipoised, â€Å"clamped together with bolts of iron. Objectivity in society and subjective latitude in solitude soldered together – this is Woolf’s answer to the dialectic of the comforts of solitude and the asperity of communication in external society.

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Bacterial Meningitis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bacterial Meningitis - Research Paper Example Bacterial meningitis can occur at any age. However, it is more common among infants, children and young adults. It is also more common in the elderly people. According to WHO (Cited in Ramakrishnana et al, 48) "two thirds of meningitis deaths in low-income Several species of bacteria cause meningitis and affectation with a particular species depends on the host and the setting. Community-acquired meningitis is usually due to Neisseria meningitides Hemophilus influenzae type-B or pneumococcus species (Ramakrishnana et al, 8). Some of these organisms are commensals in the upper respiratory tract of some healthy people (Tunkel, 1268). Listeria monocytogenes is another important cause of bacterial meningitis and it most commonly affects newborns, pregnant women, immunosuppressed and elderly population (Jacewicz, Merck Manual). Other bacteria causing meningitis include Escherichia coli, Hemophilus influenzae, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, group-B streptococci and Staphylococcus aureus. E.coli and group-B streptococci occur in newborns (Jacewicz, Merck Manual). Pseudomonas infection is more common in the immunosupressed and Staphylococcus infection occurs following injury or surgery. (Jacewicz, Merck Manual) The highest fatality rate is seen in infection due to pneumococcus (Ramakrishnana et al, 48). Certain individuals are at increased risk of developing bacterial meningitis because of their health condition. They are individuals suffering from chronic diseases like ischemic heart disease, chronic liver disease, end-stage renal failure, rheumatoid arthritis, endocrine dysfunction and immune disorders. Intake of immunosuppressants or glucocorticosteroids for immunosupression or cancer treatment also increases the risk of development of bacterial meningitis. Other risk factors include head injury,pneumococcal pneumonia, blood disorders like sickle cell anemia, splenectomy and chronic infections of the upper respiratory system. Bacterial meningitis can

Ethics and Risk Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Ethics and Risk Assessment - Essay Example 2), the form will be submitted to the appropriate Programme Administrator. Specific deadlines may apply: check on the School student intranet or with the Programme Administrator. After submission of the form, students may still change the title of their project with the agreement of their supervisor. If a change to title has ethical or risk implications however then the form should be resubmitted, this should also be indicated. Family Name First name(s) Registration Number Programme/Degree Name of Supervisor or Course-unit Leader Section 1. Confirmation of Title and Description of Project Title Child Abuse in the Catholic Church: Interview with an abused Attach a separate sheet with a description of your proposed project, max. 500 words. This should not be a theoretical or intellectual rationale, nor a detailed methodology. It should specify the location(s) and duration of your project and describe, as far as possible, who you will work with and what your interactions with research p articipants will consist of (i.e. what you will actually do with them and in what contexts) and what kind of data you will collect. Section 2. Risk Assessment Please tick (?) one box (there is no need to print out or submit a copy of the generic assessments): The proposed research does not involve any fieldwork but complies with the School Generic Risk Assessment C: On Campus Working. I confirm I have read and understood this assessment. The proposed research does include a period of fieldwork, but complies with the School Generic Risk Assessment A: Off Campus work in the UK. I confirm I have read and understood this assessment. ? The proposed research does include a period of fieldwork, but complies with the School Generic Risk Assessment B: Off Campus work overseas. I confirm I have read and understood this assessment. The proposed research does include a period of fieldwork, but falls outside of the School’s Generic Risk Assessments and therefore I have completed and attac hed a full risk assessment for approval. Section 3. Ethical Considerations Question 1 YES NO Will the research for your project involve you in gathering or holding data from living human participants in any form (i.e. interviews, surveys, observation)? Yes or No, please tick (?) one box ? If you answered No to Question 1, then you are free to undertake your research, but if your research alters at any time before submission to involve the gathering of information from or holding of data from living human participants then you must recomplete and resubmit this form. If you answered Yes to Question 1, please continue onto Question 2 Question 2 Please confirm that you have read and understood the School’s template for Ethics Approval for Student Research Projects with Consenting Adults and that your project falls within the parameters described in the template. Yes or No, please tick (?) one box YES NO ? If you answered Yes to Question 2 then you are free to undertake your resea rch providing you abide by the following conditions. You must work to the information contained in the School’s template for Ethics Approval for Student Research Projects with Consenting Adults, regarding use of participant consent forms and participant information forms, and regarding the safe collection, storage and handling of data. If your research alters at any time before submission to depart from the School’s template for Ethics Approval for Student Research Projects with Consenting Adults, then this approval is revoked and you must speak immediately to your supervisor. You must complete and submit with this form a sample participant infor

Animal Farm-Power Corrpts Essay Example for Free

Animal Farm-Power Corrpts Essay Animal Farm is an allegorical novel about the Russian Revolution and the resulting political system of the Soviet Union. Through this story which appears to be a simple fable on the surface, we see George Orwell’s beliefs about the nature of power and its seemingly inevitable corruption of noble ideas. Educated authority figures in the book bend the principles of communism to suit their own selfish needs and desires, all the while taking advantage of the uneducated masses, and easily manipulated them through propaganda and persuasion. Through this allegory of communism turned to totalitarianism, Orwell explores the dangers of a political system where leaders have no sense of social responsibility toward their subjects. The first instance of corruption among the ruling class appears shortly after the revolution. The pigs, the new rulers of Animal Farm after the ousting of the tyrant farmer Jones, milk the cows to relieve them from of their discomfort. The animals, remembering how Jones would mix some of the milk into their mash, look forward to at least similar treatment from the pigs. However, the milk soon disappears and it is discovered later that the pigs have mixed it into their own mash without sharing it with the other animals, just as the windfall apples have been consumed exclusively by the pigs. Squealer, the political propagandist for the pigs, justifies this to the other animals by saying that the pigs need the extra brain energy, and then bolsters his argument with some fear mongering: â€Å" Do you know what would happen if w pigs failed in our duty? Jones would be back!† (32). The fact that this incident occurs so quickly after the revolution and at a time when all of the pigs are still present on the farm shows Orwell’s belief that the corruption is not only inevitable in a society where the ruling sector of the population is so much better educated than the rest, but that all of these members of the ruling class were potentially corruptible. As the story moves on Orwell shows us how power is corrupting more. Another of the major instance that occurs after the milk and apples is the ruling class moving in the farmhouse. As the commandment says no animal shall sleep in a bed. Some of the other animals were confused but as usual squealer came with his propaganda.

Barriers to Entrepreneurship Development in Tajikistan

Barriers to Entrepreneurship Development in Tajikistan Introduction The development of the entrepreneurship as an essential component of the economy of Tajikistan is taking place for the past 19 years, in spite of its certain downturn during the civil war in the country in 1991-1997. Within the given period, the legal framework for the regulation of business activities was developed and amendments to the particular conditions of the governmental policy related to the entrepreneurship support were made. The stage of the entrepreneurship establishment required the improvement of its sectoral structure and enhancement of the economic efficiency. It is obvious that the prospects of its development are directly related to the alleviation of particular barriers which business people currently encounter. At the same time the inception of economical growth should initiate the positive influence on the entrepreneurship promotion. The essay will exclusively focus on the analysis of entrepreneurship establishment and development in Tajikistan with the reference to SME sector including the importance of entrepreneurship for the socio-economic development. In addition, the essay will describe main barriers to entrepreneurship development and possible ways to alleviate the difficulties related to its promotion. The rationale for the decision to write about this specific issue is based on following particular reasons: there are very few research works describing problems of entrepreneurship development in Tajikistan. Although, some scholars described these issues in the former Soviet Union countries, in most of their works Tajikistan is only slightly mentioned among the other countries. The objective of this given paper is to define the entrepreneurship situation in Tajikistan, the importance of its development as well as to identify the difficulties for entrepreneurship development and to provide recommendation for the solution of the existing problems. In order to reach the stated objective, the following research questions were raised. First of all it is important to understand, what are the main barriers to entrepreneurship development in Tajikistan? Secondly, what are the possible ways to promote entrepreneurship development? The theoretical and empirical grounds for the given paper are the analytical works of Tajik and foreign scholars, statistical data, as well as surveys and reports of various international institutions. Due to the analysis of both foreign and Tajik experts assessments the reader will be enabled to find the dual opinion on the described issue. Chapter One The role and importance of entrepreneurship in Tajikistan 1.1 Tajikistan at a glance: background information In order to explain the entrepreneurship situation in Tajikistan, it is worth to describe the background information about the country. Being a landlocked country, Tajikistan is located far from the main Eurasian highways. Infrastructure is poorly developed due to the fact that 93% of the all territory is mountains. In fact there are a number of scientific works describing the linkages between the infrastructure and the country development, including development of the entrepreneurship. However, in the framework of present essay the impact of poor infrastructure to the entrepreneurship development will not be discussed. During 1929 1991 Tajikistan was a member of the Soviet Union. After the breakdown of the Soviet Union in 1991, the country gained independence and started the transition to the market economy. After gaining its independence, the country was immediately faced with the economic problems caused by the collapse of the centrally-planned Soviet economy: such as, disruption of guaranteed markets, withdrawal of subsidies and instability of exchange (Middleton, 2007). Due to these facts, economical as well as political transformations of Tajikistan were difficult, primarily due to the holdover of various centrally planned command and control approaches to the national development (Suhir, 2003). According to Johnes, Tajikistan can be considered as the poorest of the countries of the former Soviet Union. At the beginning of its independence the position of the country was undermined by a civil war which lasted from 1991 until 1997. During that time the economy suffered significantly. In addition, the war has seriously disrupted the entire infrastructure of the country and contributed to the emigration of almost one million people, this number was equaled to a sixth of the total population. After the end of the civil war, the government undertook an aggressive program of reforms. As a consequence, by the beginning of 2000, the majority of small sized enterprises had been privatized, and most of the large enterprises were transformed into joint stock companies. Moreover, almost half of all cropland belonged to private people. In addition, being a neighbor of Afghanistan, the country has fallen victim of the drug trade and has been directly affected by drug-related criminal infi ltration (Johnes, 2002). Despite its growth, Tajik economy is not still fully recovered from the effects of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the civil war. The gross domestic product in 2007 was still only 72% of the 1991 level in real terms, which is visually represented in the Chart 1. Chart 1: Real GDP continues to recover but has not reached the level of 1991 Source: Business Environment in Tajikistan as seen by Small and Medium Enterprises, IFC, 2009 1.2 Definition and types of entrepreneurship in Tajikistan The process of society democratization and the implementation of market relations which are taking places in Tajikistan nowadays caused a variety of positive effects. Entrepreneurship which influences all economical spheres can be considered as such effect. In developed countries the role and the importance of entrepreneurship are being evaluated quite high. Our country, which has chosen the path of market economy, is considering the issues of entrepreneurship and strengthening of its role as a matter of paramount importance (Rahmon, 2001, own translation). According to the State program of Protection and support of entrepreneurship in the Republic of Tajikistan for the years 2002-2005, entrepreneurship is described as an activity which independently carried out by the persons registered in an order established by the law; this activity is directed to the earning of profit from use of property, sale of goods, manufacture, performance of works and rendering of services. Entrepreneurship development is one of the priority directions of financial and economic policy in the conditions of market economy and it is directed on increase in production and rendering of services as well as provision of new workplaces (Soliev, 2004). It is quite possible that the reason of such simplified definition of entrepreneurship was to motivate as much as possible people to become entrepreneurs. Tajik scholar Juraboev described entrepreneurship as a search for new spheres of rationalization and a profitable investment of recourses, performance of new combinations in manufacture, movement to the new markets, and creation of new products. It is aimed at making a profit above the average level (Juraboev, 2003, own translation). The tendency of entrepreneurship development in Tajikistan started from the period of 1993 1994. At that time the quantity of enterprises which performed entrepreneurial activity and had a status of legal entity was equaled to 3304 enterprises for the year of 1993 and 3988 enterprises in 1994 (Statistical yearbook , 2006). The entrepreneurship area was dominated by the cooperatives, farmers, private and individual enterprises. However, the crisis in the economy caused by the severance of economic relations between the former Soviet Union countries which had common free market zone before, and the post-war factors with corresponding decrease of nation welfare became the reasons of reduction in the quantity of private enterprises, especially SMEs. Nevertheless, in later years the entrepreneurship in Tajikistan, which for the purposes of this essay is described by the SME sector, started to recover from the consequences of Soviet Union breakup The obvious development of SME sector can be proved by the available data that shows that in October 2006 the amount of small and medium enterprises in Tajikistan was equaled to 12167, including 7578 active enterprises. The structure of the SME sector can be described as follows: the highest amount of 38.4 % is commercial enterprises, the share of trade and catering 17.2%, construction 13.3 %, industry 12.3%. The part of other economic activities is equals to 20% (Nazarov, 2006). In addition to the information provided above it is important to identify the SME sector in Tajikistan. In compliance with the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan ÂÂ «On State Protection and Support of Entrepreneurship in the Republic of TajikistanÂÂ » passed in 2005, the SME sector is composed of three typologies of businesses. The first group is individual entrepreneurs, who is involved in a business activity without forming a legal entity and operate it at their own risk. The second group is dehkah farms enterprises involved in the production and sale of agricultural products. Dehkan farmers operate as individual entrepreneurs according to the State Registration Certificate. Third group includes small and medium sized companies (Law On State Protection and Support of Entrepreneurship, 2005, own translation). Moreover, the special SMEs criteria are also being significant. As consistent with the Tax Code of Tajikistan, small enterprises are individual entrepreneurs and legal entities which perform business activity and their gross revenue (before taxes) is not exceed 150 000 USD. The average quantity of employees should not exceed 50 for agricultural sector and 30 for other sectors. Respectively, medium enterprises are individual entrepreneurs and legal entities whose gross revenue is more than 150 000 USD but does not exceed 3.7 million USD. The average quantity of employees can vary from 50 to 200 for agricultural sector and from 30 to 100 for other sectors (Tax Code, 2009, own translation). In fact the Micro-enterprises are not defined in the Tax Code. 1.3 The importance of the entrepreneurship in the socio-economic development of the country Nowadays private enterprises are functioning almost in all fields and spheres of the economy of Tajikistan. With the presence of necessary support, the entrepreneurship plays an important role: it contributes to the state budget, creates new employment and stimulates the social and economic development of the regions. Furthermore, entrepreneurs play a significant role in the social and political life of society. According to the statistics, in the year of 2007 approximately 1.7% or 19 thousand people of all population working in the private sector belonged to the SMEs. Over the last years, the quantity of employees of small and medium enterprises has increased by 14.5%, while the amount of enterprises has risen by 35%. However, the most interesting fact is that the total quantity of employees in the SME sector in 2007 was lower compare to the 1998 (Statistical Yearbook, 2008). Visually this information is presented in the Chart 2. Chart 2: Dynamics of the quantity of employees in SMEs (in thousands) Source: Tajikistan: 15 Years of Independence. Statistical yearbook, Dushanbe, 2006 It can be assumed that the relatively low quantity of employees in the SME sector is resulted from the tax burden of the employers. In fact, the amount of social tax which the employers have to pay equals to 25% out of the total payroll fund. Moreover, in contrast to the other countries, the existing taxation system in Tajikistan does not have the tax remissions in connection with the increase of the quantity of workers (Nazarov, 2006). Furthermore, the role of entrepreneurship in the market economy is very significant in terms of solving a number of socio-economic problems as well as in the poverty alleviation. Small and medium enterprises create the most favorable opportunities for the entrepreneurship especially at its initial stage. The presence of the substantial amount of SMEs on the market promotes the competition. And by promoting the competition, small and medium enterprises stimulate the increase of production efficiency as well as production growth which in its turn may cause the real growth of the economy. As a short summary of the given section about the importance of entrepreneurship in general and SMEs in particular, it can be stated that it is both the aim and the tool for the development of market economy. The dual role of entrepreneurship is confirmed by the analysis of the functions of SMEs which were classified into two groups. These groups are objective functions and tool functions. The objective functions promote the development of small and medium entrepreneurship and being considered as one of the governmental tasks. These functions include the impact on the unemployment reduction, the acceleration of the technological progress by means of innovations and ensuring the social and political stability in the society. According to the tool functions, small and medium entrepreneurship is being used in order to limit the tendencies of monopolized economy, to support formation of a middle class and to fill the particular market niches which are not attractive for the large enterpr ises (Chapek, 2004. own translation). 1.4 Characteristics of entrepreneurship development in Tajikistan The establishment of entrepreneurship in Tajikistan started at the time when the legislative foundations were absent. The Law On entrepreneurship activity was passed only in December 1991 and up to day it has completely changed. This law had a lot of disadvantages which negatively affected the process of entrepreneurship establishment in the country. Other economic laws which could support and secure the entrepreneurial activity in Tajikistan were passed later. For instance, The law on property (1996), The law on privatization of state property (1997) as well as laws related to taxation, customs and currency circulation (Nazarov, 2006). The formation of the entrepreneurship took place at the period of destabilization of finances and significant level of unemployment, which were caused by the collapse of the centralized control system. Another unique feature of entrepreneurship formation and development in Tajikistan is the limitation of strategic behavior. There are two reasons explaining it. First of all, during the first years of the market economy establishment, the formation of entrepreneurship was influenced by the substantial advantages of short-term transactions in the sphere of circulation and in the financial market. This circumstance created an appropriate attitude, stereotypes of thinking and behaving. Secondly, there is a significant gap between the profitability of long-term investments in manufacture and short-term financial transactions. The conditions for the implementation of long-term investments projects in the production sphere are such that invested funds will be paid off only in 3-5 years; howe ver, in conditions of the transition economy this process may take even longer. Therefore such areas of entrepreneurship as trade and catering remain the most attractive for the entrepreneurs (Soliev, 2004). According to the statistics, at the beginning of 2008 there were 55,8 thousands of enterprises registered in Tajikistan; in fact, 60% of them are private enterprises including both SMEs and large enterprises (Statistical Yearbook, 2008). There is a trend toward positive increase of total amount of enterprises in general as well as private enterprises in particular, as it is demonstrated in the Chart 3. Chart 3: Dynamics of total amount of enterprises, including private enterprises (in thousands) Source: Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Tajikistan, Dushanbe, 2008 The dynamic development of SME sector is caused by several specific advantages of the latter. According to the Kamarov, the most important fact is that SMEs are able to get their own market share, although they have much less funds for implementation of important strategic researches compare to large enterprises. In addition, small and medium businesses are quite flexible and mobile, which allow them to react fast for the market demand as well as to adapt for the changing conditions. Small entrepreneurship can be characterized as an originative type of economic behavior which at the same time being described as special entrepreneurial spirit and creative action (Kamarov, 2009). Another important fact is that on every 1000 of economically active population in Tajikistan there is in average only one SME; in contrast, in Russia there are 3 enterprises on every 1000 of economically active population (Davgyalo, 2007). Chapter Two Barriers to entrepreneurship development 2.1 General overview of difficulties related to the entrepreneurship development in Tajikistan As it is demonstrated by the world experience, the more opportunities for the widening of the activity by the entrepreneurs, the higher growth rate can be seen for the country. Under the given circumstances, the creation of the favorable conditions for the entrepreneurship development is a crucial factor. The entrepreneurship of Tajikistan faces particular barriers, among the others they are: instability and imperfection of the legislative system related to entrepreneurship, high level of taxes, complexity of tax collection, insufficiency of the start-up capital and current capital, difficulties with the access to bank loans, corruption, shortage of the qualified staff, difficulties with the rent of the production space as and others. In most cases there is no proper social and personal security for owners and employees of the private enterprises (Soliev, 2004). The current institutional mechanism of entrepreneurship promotion demonstrates that although the entrepreneur is secured by the laws and governmental instruments, the level of entrepreneurship development is not correspond to the high taxation level and crediting rates. (Asrorov et al., 2004). Therefore the entrepreneurs are acting in the environment of legal and economical limitation. The barriers faced by entrepreneurs impede the inflow of billions of dollars of potential profit for the country each year and threaten to derail the political and economic transition. These losses take place due to the ill-designed, complicated laws and regulations that unnecessarily raise the cost of doing business in the formal sector. As a result of high costs of doing business, entrepreneurs are using in their operations limited funds in order to survive with presence of low income and consequently they are losing the economic potential. In addition, the costly business regulations encourage potential investors to invest in the more favorable business environments and therefore country faces the lack of the needed investments (Suhir, 2003). The experience of entrepreneurship establishment and development in Tajikistan demonstrates that the majority of business owners are not aimed at the further growth. Their main goal is to ensure the stable existence, to preserve their capital and market position (Urdashev, 2005). The given situation can be explained by two reasons. First of all, there is no effective system for the stimulation of entrepreneurial activity. Secondly, entrepreneurs are experiencing the certain pressure from the tax, custom and law-enforcement authorities. 2.2 Main barriers faced by entrepreneurship in Tajikistan In this section of the paper the main barriers to the entrepreneurship development will be described in details. These barriers are: difficulties related to licensing, access to finance, imperfection of taxation system, poor infrastructure, corruption and lack of sufficient knowledge by entrepreneurs. Licensing IFC defined license as a special permit issued by a state body authorizing a business to carry out a certain activity under specific terms and conditions. When a business is subject to licensing requirements, it must obtain the specific license before starting its activities. Thus licensing happens after business registration, but before a company is allowed to start operations in the activity to be licensed (IFC, 2009). The barriers related to the licensing can be classified as the continuation of the Soviet system of permissions whereby one must obtain approval from the authorities in order to perform even the smallest tasks. The present permissive entrepreneurial climate which characterized by abundant regulation, continues to inflict losses on entrepreneurial activity in all sectors of the economy (Suhir, 2003). According to the world practice, the low-risk activities and those which do not involve any limited resources should not be subject to licensing. In fact, Tajikistan licenses some activities that are not licensed in many other countries; for instance, real estate valuation and tourism (IFC, 2009). The Chart 4 illustrates that in spite of the recent reforms, the number of activities licensed in Tajikistan is still relatively high compare to some other countries. Chart 4 Number of economic activities subject to licensing in selected countries Source: Business Environment in Tajikistan as seen by Small and Medium Enterprises, IFC, 2009 For instance, IFC reports that eight of the 65 licensed economic activities are related to the transport. However, the implementing regulations of the Licensing Laws divide these eight economic activities into 22 sub-activities, each of that in its turn requires a separate license. In addition, the period of validity of licenses as well as their cost still remains a problem. The law foresees that the minimum period of validity for the license is 3 years; however, on practice the licenses are being issued for the period which in average is less than one year (IFC, 2009). The short periods of licenses validity impede the investments and long-term development as well as create the grounds for the extortion by the officials. Access to finance One of the main conditions of the entrepreneurship development is the existence of proper financial infrastructure. In general the Tajik financial system was growing rapidly over the past years, although it still remains small. Recent data shows, that there are twelve commercial banks (including one state-owned bank), seven credit societies, one non-bank financial institution and eighty eight microfinance institutions operating in Tajikistan (IFC, 2009). The banking systems in Central Asia in general and in Tajikistan in particular can be considered as insufficient since they impose impossible demands on entrepreneurs due to the unreasonable time-frames and terms of credit repayments, it is difficult to provide collateral and to find a guarantor for securing a loan (Suhir, 2003). Thus in order to get a loan from some commercial banks the entrepreneur should provide the collateral which values up to 3 times more compare to the actual amount of requested loan. The survey performed by the IFC demonstrates that more than half of rejected loan applications in 2007 were due to the insufficient loan collateral (IFC, 2009). In addition, the process to formalization and registration of the collateral is complicated and expensive at the present time. Besides that, the loans themselves became not very attractive because of the interest rate. Additional factor of distrust to the banking area is the lack of reliable mechanism for the protection of the borrowers interests. In this respect the majority of entrepreneurs actually not able to use services of commercial banks. The Chart 5 demonstrates what kind of problems entrepreneurs encounter in terms of access to the finance. And it is quite clear that the most important issue is high interest rates. Chart 5: Main obstacles as identified by the potential borrowers (in %) Source: Business Environment in Tajikistan as seen by Small and Medium Enterprises, IFC, 2009 In general, in compliance with the Doing business report, Tajikistan is ranked as 167th overall in terms of easiness to getting credit (World Bank, 2010). And firms consistently rate access to credit as among the greatest barriers to their operation and growth. Taxation system The modern tendency for the entrepreneurship development can be described as the one with the lack of unity of economic aims between entrepreneurship and government. On the one hand, the governmental regulations related to the entrepreneurial activity are grounded on the creation of the favorable conditions for the entrepreneurship development; however, on the other hand, they are directed on provision the maximum tax revenues to the state budget. At present there are 18 different taxes in Tajikistan. According to the statistics, forty-eight percent of countrys tax revenues in 2008 came from the value-added tax. Tax code states that the value-added tax is equal to 18%, income tax 30% and social tax 25% (Tax Code, 2009). Such level of taxation does not correspond with the taxation systems used in developed countries. As a rule, developed countries increase tax rates in order to restrain the overproduction (Davgyalo, 2007). In fact there is no problem of overproduction in Tajikistan. On the whole the tax regime in Tajikistan is characterized by high complexity and instability. The Tajik Tax Code, which went into effect in 2004, has been amended 9 times since that time. Unfortunately given amendments neither caused the simplification of tax obligations nor improved tax administration. The World Bank Groups Doing Business 2009 report demonstrates evidence that taxes impose a heavy burden on business taxpayers in the country. This report ranks Tajikistan as 159th out of 181 countries in terms of ease of complying with the tax obligations (World Bank, 2009). Besides, the procedure of preparation the tax forms is complicated, the average Dehkan farmer or individual entrepreneur has spent almost 5 working days on the filing and on payment of taxes in 2007. While the average SME spent more than three weeks on this process. Moreover, there is a lack of effective communication infrastructure for the acceptance of the tax reports by mail. Although the Tax Code states that it is possible for taxpayers to submit their tax declarations in three ways: by certified mail, in person, or electronically; in practice, entrepreneurs submit tax reports in person. In addition, the survey performed by IFC shows that that submission of tax declarations involves a significant period of time spent waiting in lines at the tax office in order to get the appropriate signatures (IFC, 2009). Corruption The harmful nature of corruption between government and business enterprises is a classic conflict of the political economy, which goes back to Adam Smiths The Wealth of Nations. In the socialist period, bribery was widely practiced as a sort of necessary evil among citizens in Soviet Union Countries. It operated as a special social mechanism used to overcome obstacles established by bureaucratic systems as well as chronic shortages of supply which could affect business operations and everyday activities. In contrast, in the transition period, the corruption between entrepreneurs and bureaucrats started to take place more for self-interest rather than as a socially necessary evil like it was in Soviet Union time (Ichiro Iwasaki, 2007). Interesting explanation of the existence of corruption was provided by Clark and Naito in their article. According to them, corruption is endemic in all countries of Central Asia. However, the additional factor which contributes to the level of corruption results from the existing barriers with respect to the cooperation between various Ministries. In fact, nowadays the level of cooperation is relatively small and as a consequence there is a shortage of transparency in the system. The lack of transparency in its turn allows corruption to flourish as there are no checks and bounds on the system (Clark, Naito, 1998). The number of surveys performed by the World Bank confirms the fact that corruption remains a main constraint for entrepreneurship in Tajikistan. This demonstrated by the high frequency of informal gifts requested from enterprises by the government officials, so called Graft Index. The Graft Index shows the proportion of instances in which enterprises were either requested or expected to pay an informal payment for licenses, permits or public services (IFC, 2009). Visually the situation with corruption in Tajikistan in comparison with some other countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia is presented at the Chart 6. Chart 6: Tajikistan has the highest graft index in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) ECA Regional Average Source: Business Environment in Tajikistan as seen by Small and Medium Enterprises, IFC, 2009 However, the survey performed by IFC in 2007 demonstrates that the situation related to the informal payments in Tajikistan has improved over the last years. According to the survey responses, entrepreneurs were asked for or expected to pay bribes or give informal gifts in 2007 fewer compare to previous years. Although this is a positive development, it is too early to conclude that corruption is no longer a problem. Data demonstrate that 21% of enterprises have defined the informal payments as a main obstacle for their business activity. In fact, only high tax rates were defined as a major obstacle more often than corruption (IFC, 2009). Lack of the sufficient knowledge by entrepreneurs Johnes stated that the main resource which is available to Tajikistan is its people. Generally the level of education in the country is high, with a literacy rate about 98% (Johnes, 2002). However, one of the obstacles which may be additionally observed in Tajikistan nowadays is the lack of the sufficient knowledge in the area of entrepreneurship. This fact can be explained by taking a look at the history. In the Soviet era entrepreneurship was considered as a speculation. The Great Soviet Encyclopedia defines speculation as a process of buying up the goods on closed markets and resale those goods on open and deficiency markets in conditions of constraining the freedom of trade, for example, during the war (Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 1978, own translation). This activity was punishable either by high fines or imprisonment and due to this reason was considered as a part of the shadow economy. Based on the above mentioned information, the following conclusion can be drawn the entrepreneurship as an activity as well as entrepreneurs are still being considered as unacceptable or even discreditable activity by the people of older generation. It is obvious that problems related to managerial issues are really crucial for the private entrepreneur due to the reason that the manager should be a specialist with a broad knowledge in the area of management, finance, accounting and marketing. In fact, nowadays the universities of the country are not preparing such versatile managers for the private sector (Urdashev, 2005). The current situation in Tajikistan is such that the majority of entrepreneurs have problems due to the lack of proper knowledge. Thus according to the IFC survey, more than one-third of individual entrepreneurs did not keep any financial or tax records in 2007 (IFC, 2009), despite the existing requirements. The responses presented in the Chart 7 demonstrate the reasons for the absence of necessary records. It is clear that the lack of knowledge is a very significant issue in this respect. Chart 7: Reasons f