Saturday, December 21, 2019

Gender Equality in the Classroom - 1082 Words

Analyzing the Classroom From the time we are about 5 years old and for some of us into our late 20’s and 30’s we are in a coeducational environment called the classroom. Ever wonder which gender has the leg up? The bias towards? The one most likely to succeed? My prediction is that boys from kindergarten through the collegiate level more often than not will have an advantage capturing the teacher’s attention and dominating classroom activities over women. From the way students are bred into the educational system to their biological tendencies boys tend to overpower girls in a classroom. This is why more often than not they will be acknowledged in a group discussion, opinions will be valued more, and command the flow of the room over†¦show more content†¦It has been found that especially with girls when in a single sex classroom girls are more likely to respond to questions and engage more in class discussions, as well as try â€Å"less conventionalâ₠¬  subjects for girls such as math and science. â€Å"Research Spotlight on Single-Gender Education.† National Education Association. Copyright 2002-2013. What is believed to be of great assistance to not only girls but boys as well is small classes and schools, equitable teaching practices, and focused academic curriculum. The American Association of University Women. Separated by Sex: A Critical Look at Single-Sex Education for Girls. Washington D.C: (1998) Print. Gender stereotypes run ramped in social institutions and schools are no exception. It is common to hear â€Å"Jenny will be good with children one day she’s so loving and caring†, as well as â€Å"Tom is so confident, he will make a great leader.† Is there something wrong with this? There is nothing wrong with Tom being a leader and Jenny being a great mother, but it creates a stereotype that leaves a large impression on children. Especially before adolescence children are very impressionabl e when it comes to social norms. People are social and developing creatures. During the time especially from the age of about six to puberty humans are testing what will be acceptable in public and not. It is taught that boys will be dominant over girls, which is completely false. Teachers have aShow MoreRelatedGender Inequalities And Gender Inequality922 Words   |  4 PagesGender Inequalities in Education Judge Sonia Sotomayor states, â€Å"Until we get equality in education, we won t have an equal society. That quote resonates throughout the world because of gender inequality in education. Researchers believe gender inequality still exists in the 21st century. Through research, controversial opinions exist about inequality in schools and what has been done to address this situation. What is gender equality? Gender inequality refers to disproportionate dealing or assessmentsRead MoreThe Inequality Of People Based Off Of Race1369 Words   |  6 Pagesact like a woman, give a man whatever he wants. Over time these became a set of gender boundaries. I believe that this behavior and way of thinking can over time have a huge negative impact on the way we as a society is upbringing children and making them think. Also this way of thinking prevents us from achieving full gender equality. Giving a gender more privilege than another is not a way to conquer gender equality. In the professor emerita of sociology and women s studies, Judith Lorber s BelievingRead MoreThe Gender Biases Of Children1325 Words   |  6 PagesThe gender biases learned in schools are revealed later in the workplace, further revealing the impact it can have. Students’ talents may go unrecognized and undeveloped simply because they were not appropriate for their gender norms created by society. A young boy who likes to dance may not want his male friends to know about his hobby for fear of being bullied. Because dancing is predominantly feminine, the young boy is not fulfilling his masculine role for his friends, therefore trying to hideRead MoreSeparating genders in the classroom The most essential aspect of education is an open and800 Words   |  4 Pages Separating genders in the classroom The most essential aspect of education is an open and welcoming environment that promotes freedom in learning. This helps to ensure that one can confidently express oneself and not hold back. Being able to freely ask questions and share thoughts is an important key in being successful. In my educational career, even up until the present day, this has not always been the case. Sadly so, many students struggle with these things. I have had the privilege of theRead MoreThe Gender Equality Battle . â€Å"Who Is A Man, And Who Is1230 Words   |  5 PagesThe Gender Equality Battle â€Å"Who is a man, and who is a woman? Are we not one?† (unknown). This quote is significant in today’s society. Gender equality is not an issue that affects women. It is an issue that affects each and every single gender. The sources used for this essay give various outlooks on how gender inequality affects society and how as a society this issue can be resolved. The following sources give an insight into gender stereotypes, technology closing the gender gap, women becomingRead MoreGender Equality Essay1069 Words   |  5 Pagesbecame a set of gender boundaries. I believe that this behavior and way of thinking can over time have an negative impact on the way we as a society is upbringing our citizens. Also this way of thinking prevents us from achieving full gender equality. In the professor emerita of sociology and womens studies, Judith Lorbers Believing is Seeing: Biology as Ideology and professor of linguistics Deborah Tannens How Male and Female Students Use La nguage Differently They discuss these gender boundariesRead MoreTeaching In A Twenty First Century Society, The Expectation1140 Words   |  5 PagesTeaching in a twenty first century society, the expectation for gender equality is important to provide the proper exposure, understanding, and educate individuals about society’s norms. These expectations that students will need to make acceptable choices for the betterment of their future. Therefore, it is the duty for educators to offer introductions in gender roles, gender stereotypes, and sexism. These are sensitive topics and need to be taught accurately with balanced information and with aRead MorePreschool Mission : Education And Learning Environment851 Words   |  4 Pagesof different gender identities. BJBee’s Preschool is committed to valuing diversity by providing equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children and families. We respect and value the linguistic, cultural and religio us diversity which exists in the community. We are committed to challenging attitudes that promote racial discrimination, ensuring respect for all and preparing all children for life in a culturally diverse society. Diversity in the classroom and school mustRead MoreUnderstanding And Supporting Gender Equity754 Words   |  4 PagesMulticultural Education focuses on both understanding and supporting gender equity in schools. Supporting gender equality use to mean providing both equal access and equal outcomes for all students regardless of their gender; equality meant proving students with the exact same rather than providing students with opportunities and experiences based on what they needed in order to succeed and better themselves. Equality does not only focus on gender and understanding, it also includes other diverse aspects ofRead MoreLack Of Socio Cultural Factors1594 Words   |  7 Pagesquality education with an outcome of lower quality futures. â€Å"It is one thing to understand that in today’s society many minority groups are educationally disadvantaged due to their race, ethnicity, geographical location, socioeconomic status and gender. It is quite another thing to think that schools might actually be implicated in cementing rather than disrupting this disadvantage; but in this chapter that is what we will be suggesting to you.† (Groundwater-Smith et al, 2009, p.73). Through analyzing

Friday, December 13, 2019

Foster Care Personal Statement Free Essays

I entered the foster care system at age 4 due to my birth mothers drug problems. I was immediately adopted to a family of 12 before I could even understand the reality of my own life. It hit quick when I was old enough to think for myself. We will write a custom essay sample on Foster Care Personal Statement or any similar topic only for you Order Now I began to notice how emotionally abusive the adoptive mother was. She played me and my younger blood sister against each other and made sure I knew that I was worth nothing and would never amount to anything. Dealing with such a relationship made my preteen years unbearable, I turned to friends at school and the adoptive father for support and comfort. At age 14 I was place back in the foster system without a clue as to why. After a long, hard confusing year full of interrogations and mixed feelings, the conclusion was stated. I was in foster care because my adoptive father had sexually abused 4 of my siblings, including my younger sister. This was old news to the adoptive mother, which brought light to the reason why she acted the way she did toward me. The discovery of this left me feeling angry, sad and betrayed all at the same time. To think that someone I confided in and looked up to for 10 years of my life could do such a thing caused me to lose all trust and hope in people. While most teens transitioning to high school focused their mental energy towards worrying about their next exam and trying to fit in somewhere, mine included more hardships. I was more focused on trying to live comfortably with strangers, and not feeling like a burden to them. A lot of my energy went towards trying to be there for my little sister, someone I’ve never had a chance to build a good relationship with in the first place, in a time where I didn’t want anything to do with relationships. I was focused on things like learning to trust again, accepting the things that have happened in my life, and not shutting everyone out of my life. It was in this time frame that I turned to music for comfort. Music has honestly helped me through the tough times, and has been the most consistent part of my life. I hope to someday make a career out of this passion. Ferris offers a well-rounded degree in music management. I feel it will help me become very accessible in the music industry. With the help of music, iv come through tough times, and I feel that I can succeed. Im driven to succeed. How to cite Foster Care Personal Statement, Essay examples

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Innovation Management Business Capstone Project

Question: Discuss about the Innovation Management for Business Capstone Project. Answer: The organic business is considered as one of the unique business in the field of the small scale as well as medium scale industries. From the vast topic of Horticulture industry, the small organic product making organization is selected. The business topic selected for the research is the organization named as the Belle lens Grampians Organic, which works on the small level for making the organic products. This organization is considered as the small scale industry and also helpful in providing the innovative aspects related to the organic products. (Victoria State Government, 2016). The significance of the topic is that with the help of this topic, the production issues can be identified on the wide level. The research questions are defined below: - What are the major reasons of the inappropriate production in the organization? What attempts should be taken to eradicate the issues related to the production. Research Methodology According to the survey conducted by the ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics), it is possible to produce the maximum variety of vegetables like tomato, potato and other green vegetables (Horticulture Innovation Australia, 2016). These all are included in the category of the organic products. In fact, these organic vegetables are distributed in the near area of Melbourne. There are various research methodologies which are introduced for identifying the suitable aspects related to the organization. The selection of the suitable research methodology matters a lot. If the research methodology is not appropriate, then it wont be possible to manage the developmental aspects (Grampians Produce official website, 2016). The research methodologies are divided into two major aspects which are known as qualitative research methodology and quantitative research methodology. Both of these methods are suitable for the research methodology. But, the most appropriate methodology is identified from two of them. In reference to the research work (i.e. Horticulture industry), the most suitable methodology is the quantitative research methodology (Turnbull, 2006). Through this methodology, the data can be collected from the various sources and can be defined in an easier manner. In fact, this methodology will also help in providing the advanced research work for the development of the horticulture business. Methods of data collection The data collection is a method by which an appropriate data is collected for creating the suitable research. The data collection or sampling technique is considered as the most suitable aspect by which, the data may be collected and used for the suitable processing. The data which is composed can be collected on the basis of the interview, by creating the suitable questionnaire and by taking the samples from the different categories. The data is mainly collected from the consumers, retailers, stakeholders and the owners of the small horticulture industry (i.e. Bellellens Grampians Organic) (Austin, 2016). Further, the method used for the data analysis is the primary data analysis in which the proper questionnaire will be prepared to identify the major issues related to the horticulture industry in Melbourne, Australia. Data Analysis Data analysis is the process by which an appropriate analysis of the current data can be done in an appropriate manner. In the current scenario, the analysis report will be helpful in showing the major aspects related to the small scale industry. For presenting the views related to the data, the two methods are taken into considerations which are known as the primary data analysis and the secondary data analysis (EdX Inc., 2016). The primary data analysis is considered as more suitable in comparison to the secondary data analysis because with the help of primary data analysis, the complete reviews and the feedback from the selected sample can be taken easily. The questionnaire for the primary data analysis is shown below and the sample is identified by 100 people Questionnaire What are the major aspects in selecting the organization (i.e. belle lens Grampians Organic)? Turnover Management aspects Appropriate Production System Other What are the major reasons for the production issues? Employee dissatisfaction Lack of resources Inappropriate production system Others What are the major problems which are faced by the production team while making the products? Financial problem Absence of raw material Lack of guidance Other What are the major steps which should be considered to improve the existing situation of the production in the organization? By providing suitable training By providing funds from government By assisting the employees Other Has the organic business contributing in the small scale business industry in Melbourne, Australia? Agree Disagree May be or May not be Others Other than the primary data analysis, the secondary data is also considered as important. Though its not appropriate in the current scenario, but it may help in defining the suitable data which is available on the internet. In fact, there are various journals and the articles defined for showing the aspects related do the organic product making organization (i.e Bellellens Grampians Organic). The articles and the journals are also able to define the different methods and processes related to the horticulture (Farmhouse Direct , 2016). Steps and Target Dates For conducting the suitable procedure, it is essential to set the appropriate milestones for the further development. The research topic defines for the discussion carries various steps .These milestones will be helpful in defining the initiation and the ending of the project in the suitable manner. The steps related to the completion of the project are shown below. On the basis of these steps, the appropriate Gantt chart has also been drawn which is helpful in providing the diagrammatic assistance to the project completion. Firstly for the research aspect, the problem statement and the research question are being analyzed. As the research aspect is related to the organic industry which is the sub topic of the Horticulture industry, so for this, the suitable problems and the research questions will be identified. This is the most important step in the research process. The second step is related to the identification of the suitable methodology which is helpful in deciding the appropriate methodology for the research work (i.e. Qualitative and quantitative). In the third step, the suitable methods of data collection are defined. The data collection should also be in an appropriate manner, so that the generation of the output can become possible. The fourth step mainly implies the analysis of the suitable data. The data analysis will be helpful in providing the output as per the requirement of the research work. The analysis may also help in solving the issues related to the problem statement. Finally, the questionnaire and the Gantt chart are drawn for providing the suitable steps for the development of the existing research in the rapidly manner. To complete all the aspects defined above, the definite timeline should be decided. To complete all the targets, the specific timelines are decided which is helpful in calculating the total manpower and the financial efforts which are required in completing the whole process. The Gantt chart and the milestone are defined below with the help of the excel sheet. The completion time for the process is considered as two months. The primary mentor or the supervisor selected for the complete process is the different authors and the research work found out from the different articles and the journals adapted for the suitable literature review. Checklist The checklist is the most appropriate method to check the involvement of the major aspects used in the research work (P Edwards, 2008). Major Decision List Availability Identification of the problem Selection of the suitable methods for the research Research analysis and the questionnaire Explanation of the milestone Gantt chart Diagrammatic representation of the data Bibliography Austin, J., 2016. Innovation management. Innovation management, 11 February. EdX Inc., 2016. Data Analysis for your Business. Data Analysis for your Business. Farmhouse Direct , 2016. Bellellen Grampians Organics. [Online]. Grampians Produce official website, 2016. Grampians Produce: The finest regional fare. [Online] Available at: https://www.grampiansproduce.com.au/ Horticulture Innovation Australia, 2016. We invest in research using strategic co-investment funding. [Online] Available at: https://horticulture.com.au/research-strategic-co-investment/ P Edwards, 2008. A Useful Check List: Making Ethical Decisions , s.l.: s.n. Turnbull, A., 2006. Horticulture Natural Resource Management Strategy: Managing the environmental agenda for horticulture, s.l.: Horticulture Australia Ltd . Victoria State Government, 2016. Establishing a successful small horticulture enterprise. Establishing a successful small horticulture enterprise: Part A Principles and experiences, 28 January.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

3 Ways To Increase the Pressure of a Gas

3 Ways To Increase the Pressure of a Gas One common science homework question is to list 3 ways to increase the  pressure of a gas container or a balloon. This is an excellent question because answering it helps you understand what pressure is and how gases behave. What Is Pressure? Pressure is the amount of force exerted over a unit of area. P F/A Pressure Force divided by Area As you can see from looking at the equation, two ways to increase pressure are to increase the amount of force or decrease the area over which it is exerted. How exactly do you do that? Thats where the Ideal Gas Law comes into play. Pressure and the Ideal Gas Law At low (ordinary) pressures, real gases behave like ideal gases, so you can use the Ideal Gas Law to determine how to increase the pressure of a system. The Ideal Gas Law states: PV nRT Where P is pressure, V is volume, n is the number of moles of a gas, R is Boltzmanns constant, and T is temperature If we solve for P: P (nRT)/V Three Ways to Increase the Pressure of a Gas Increase the amount of gas. This is represented by the n in the equation. Adding more molecules of a gas increases the number of collisions between the molecules and the walls of the container. This raises pressure.Increase the temperature of the gas. This is represented by T in the equation. Increasing temperature adds energy to the gas molecules, increasing their motion and, again, increasing collisions.Decrease the volume of the gas. This is the V in the equation. By their very nature, gases can be compressed, so if the same gas can be put into a smaller container, it will exert a higher pressure. The gas molecules will be forced closer to each other, increasing collisions (force) and pressure.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Baskin Robbins Franchise Essay Example

Baskin Robbins Franchise Essay Example Baskin Robbins Franchise Paper Baskin Robbins Franchise Paper Baskin Robbins Franchise Started in 1945 by two brothers-in-law Irvine Robbins and Burton Baskin, Baskin-Robbins has developed from two separate stores owned by the two entrepreneurs to one of the biggest ice cream franchising companies in the United States of America. They officially named the company Baskin-Robbins in 1953 and merged to introduce different flavors for each day of the month. Presently, the company has its headquarters in Massachusetts and is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. There are plans to expand the company’s outlets across the United States and internationally (Liebenson, paragraph 6). Baskin-Robbins has over 5500 stores globally with 3,358 of these within the United States of America. In these other countries, the company specializes in local flavors that the consumers there will easily enjoy. Baskin-Robbins came up with the franchising project many years ago, a model that has proven to be successful over the years looking at the amount of successes the company has achieved. However, it is important to note that the company does not offer sub-franchising terms to possible franchisees. To counter this restriction, the franchisees are allowed to grow other outlets within their prescribed territories. There are preferred types of locations where franchisees are advised to build their outlets. These include regional malls, free-standing buildings and strip centers. This franchising initiative has enabled many growing entrepreneurs to associate themselves with a successful company over the years, and see how their input has developed the company. Where the franchisee needs financial aid in making his dream come true, the company has developed several mechanisms in collaboration with some financial institutions to provide loans for franchisees. Examples of the types of loans on offer are equipment loans, real estate loans and business acquisition loans (Baskin-Robbins.com paragraph 49). Name: : Lab Number: Summary Franchise Form Name of Franchise: Baskin-Robbins Franchise Ownership of Franchisor: Publicly Traded? : Yes Stock Exchange: Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). Stock Price in $: on February , 2013. Franchise Locations: Regional: 554 National: 3,358 International: 6000 How Many Locations: 8600 Any Locations in Billings? Yes If Yes, How Many 2 How Does One Become An Owner Of A Franchise (Franchisee)? Explain Briefly: Costs: Least net price of $ 300,000. Cash Input of $ 100,000. Mean total input of $ 250,000. Royalties: 5-5.9% Other fees: First franchise contribution: $ 40,000 Mean franchise contribution: $40,000 Advertising charge: $ 5% Estimated Annual Income for a franchisee site: $290, 554 Territory Exclusion? No. Explain: This is to encourage competition between the different outlets as they promote company products. Are You Doing Your Presentation On An International Franchise? Yes Country: Unites States of America. City: Massachusetts, Canton BaskinRobbins. Franchise Opportunities. In BaskinRobbins.com. December 2013. Web. February 18, 2013. Chaudhuri, Saabira. Gasparro, Annie. Dunkin’ to Expand to California. In Wall Street Journal Online. January 16, 2013. Web. February 18, 2013. Horovitz, Bruce. Holiday Flavors Keep Getting Weird. In Usatoday.com. November 18, 2012. Web. February 18, 2013. Liebenson, Donald. Business profile: Baskin Robbins in Deerfield. In Chicago Tribune. February 5, 2013. Web. February 18, 2013. World of Franchising. Baskin-Robbins. World of Franchising.com.2012. Print. February 18, 2013.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

ANALYSIS OF U.S. ECONOMY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ANALYSIS OF U.S. ECONOMY - Essay Example This may perhaps be the reason for the speculation over the state of the economy considering that during the second quarter the gross domestic product rate fell slightly lower than that which was produced in the first quarter of the year. However, these higher numbers may not necessarily mean that the economy is going to bounce back. There is still concern over the consumer spending as this only rose to 2.4% which was less than the estimation and this may well be a concern as consumer spending constitutes about seventy percent of the gross domestic product . There have been cuts in taxes to coax the consumers from spending more and this may perhaps have helped the situation. By cutting taxes to a degree which would encourage spending there may well be a rise in the gross domestic product and this would certainly be a big boost to the recovering economy. There are some economists who believe that within next year the rate may well rise to 3% and perhaps even more but it would be too e arly to measure the specific rate. Consumers have also gained confidence are now more welcome to the idea of spending. Incomes and spending have risen, which in result have led to a fall in the savings. The Bureau of Economic Analysis has submitted the figures of savings which have dropped from $622.8 to $614.8 from September to October. Figures such as these are a good sign that consumers are becoming more confident about spending money and this is a welcome boost to the industries and especially retailers (US Department of Commerce). The rate of the gross domestic product would not be the only assessment of the economy. Unemployment rates in the United States are at a high and have even increased to a rate of 9.8% (United States Department of Labor). According to one report, the rates are still lower than what the actual situation is at the moment due to the fact that those who have stopped trying to get jobs due to the slow economy are not being

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Behaviour for Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Behaviour for Learning - Essay Example Autistic children also have problems in communication. These are as follows: 1. Two – way communication process. These people find it difficult to express their language to others. 2. They also have problems in receptive language. In other words, these people cannot understand what others say to them. 3. These people also have problems understanding non – verbal communication like body language and facial expressions An autistic child also has problems in dealing with social situations due to the problems faced in communication. Social situations may be extremely stressful and demanding for these children as they find it difficult to communicate with other people. Such people may not even understand the general social rules that govern the social situation. For example, they may not understand how close one needs to stand in front of another person in order to communicate. Children may find it extremely daunting especially if they are in an unfamiliar or new situation. There may be some who may avoid contact with others due to these difficulties. Participant description: A thirteen year old autistic boy is having problems in behavior and learning. He is currently working on P levels in autism. He exhibits tantrums, screams, mouths objects, non – compliance, grinds his teeth, rocks, throws objects, spits and bolts. His tantrums usually last for about 20 – 30 minutes and repeats this at least 4 – 5 times a day. The thirteen year old scored a rating of 49 on the Childhood Autism Rating Scale which puts him in the severely autistic range. This boy was sent to a special school wherein he learnt the functional use of five American Sign Language signs. However he did not learn any other communication skills including gestures. The Children Act and its aims: The Children Act 2004 (the Act) provides the legislative spine on which Every Child Matters. It aims to promote early intervention, integrate and improve children's services, prov ide strong leadership and bring together different professionals in multi-disciplinary teams in order achieve positive outcomes for children and young people and their families. Five key outcomes for children and young people are emphasized in the Act and Change programme. The act aims to attain, 'being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and achieving economic well-being'. (Surrey County Council, 2011). Behavioral and communication strategies: For autistic children and adolescents IQ and speech level is not questioned. However, many studies suggest that outcomes can be affected by intervention. Intensive behavioral intervention program is very effective in getting better results out of autistic people. An important component of prognosis is the type of intervention used for achieving desirable outcomes. The intervention also depends on the clinical traits and attributes of an autistic child and the best outcomes are derived from children ha ving high cognitive levels. Intervention is administered via multidisciplinary, comprehensive approaches that may include speech therapy, psychotherapy, educational sessions and psychomotor rehabilitation. Approaches are eclectic and vary considerably across individuals. Speech levels and autism severity are widely acknowledged as two of the prognosis factors irrespective of the methodology used. A predictive factor of outcomes is the presence or absence of speech in an autistic child. Higher level of autism is also responsible for

Monday, November 18, 2019

Dystopia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dystopia - Essay Example The themes often show dehumanization, dictatorial institutions, disaster with the environment and other issues that are associated with bad luck and calamities (Atwood). The same themes are found by reading 1984 by George Orwell (Orwell). This political novel is written with the purpose of warning readers about dangers associated with totalitarian leadership. Where we see authorities using their power to control and manipulate the lives of the people they rule. One of the major areas is in language use for exclusion and mind control, psychological manipulation, control of information and history. In his book for example, Orwell elaborates to the readers on the dangers that are associated with totalitarian leadership. The same issues are found in the Handmaids tale. The Handmaid’s Tale is set in the future times, in a theocracy that has overthrown the government of the United States of America. In the novel there are many themes discussed, some of the major ones is the issue of women who are forced to be submissive to the male dominated governance. The major themes that are explored in this novel includes; the use of women body as political instruments, the cause of urge and use of language to manipulate people. Physical control In his novel, 1984, Orwell talks about how the totalitarian party controls the bodies of its people. The party is very strict and observes any form of disloyalty to the extent that even a simple facial twitch can lead to a person being arrested on the spot. For the reason we find that, a person’s nervous system is actually his worst enemy. The same issues are found in the Handmaids tale, where people and especially women are monitored everywhere (Orwell). c) Use of language to manipulate people In exploring this theme, Gilead, innovates a new language that corrupts the main form of communication and can only serve the society it desires and the elite people in this world. In addition, women are the major losers here because Gilead prohibits any woman to hold jobs and those who are found working are usually put to punishment. For women, they are nothing more than wives and handmaids. They are stripped off their familiar names and called Marthas. Those women who are found with deformed babies are not taken to be human and for this reason Gilead refer to them as unwomen. For men, Gilead ensures that each man works hard to hold strengths of the military system alive. All men are judged by their military might. This form of ill treatment is not only reflected in gender relations but also on racial grounds. (Atwood). Gilead rule is very lethal that even one can be persecuted for not greeting another person in the required manner. This in Gilead’s world is a show of disloyalty. Through this theme, the reader is able to foresee the dangers that the world and our governments would face it were led by a totalitarian society. This can also be found in Foucaults, â€Å"Panopticism† from Discipline & Punishment’ (Foucault) where he talks about eighteenth century torture. In his book he analyzes on the issues of totalitarian rule and penalties given to the people who went against the ruling government. Totalitarian rule shaped the way people behaved and how the governments run. Penalties became so harsh that it became a way of life. In Europe and America, penalties would exist in the following ways: economic purnishment, projects reforms, revision of law and crime, moral and

Friday, November 15, 2019

Impact of Internationalization on Company Performance

Impact of Internationalization on Company Performance Increased deregulation, cross-border activities of non-financial companies and improved information communications technology led to an increased consolidation of financial institutions across borders. Commercial banking sector in particular, have witnessed tremendous amount of cross-border bank merger and acquisitions (MAs) deals throughout the recent years. While globalization has accelerated cross-border merger activities around the world, another global force recently has been creating a counterweight to cross-border deals. Concerns over nationalism, feelings of national security and protectionism have delayed several cross-border banking deals. Basically, MAs of these institutions results in Consolidation, Internationalization or Conglomeration. In this context, Consolidation: It is a result of more concentrated banking systems, smaller number of larger firms. Ex: Consolidation of Bank of New York and hMellon in 2007 in USA. Internationalization: It is evidenced by increasing number of banking and other financial institutions that operate across national borders. Ex: Citi Bank, HSBC etc., operating worldwide. Conglomeration: Larger number of financial groups whose activities combine those of bank and non-bank financial firms. Ex: State Bank of India combining other State Banks for various activities in its umbrella in India. Objective and Scope of the Project The objective of this project is to understand the concept of internationalization and observe strategic patterns undertaken by various banks and evaluate the way it affected the performance of the organization. In this process, we consider exploring the following areas with a case study of a Canadian or US bank along with our study. Introduction to Internationalization After a relatively quiet period in 2001/2002, international mergers and acquisitions have picked up again. Since the 2003 mergers between Bank of America and FleetBoston, and JP Morgan Chases acquisition of Bank One, speculations were fueled about comparable cross-border deals in the European banking market. JP Morgan Chase announced its purchase of London based Cazenove in October 2004, while Spanish Banco Santander bought British mortgage bank Abbey National for 12.5 billion euro in august 2004, the largest cross border acquisition since HSBC bought French CCF in 2001. On the other hand, restructuring also took place. Credit Suisse announced in December 2004 that it would absorb First Boston, its global investment bank, into the parent organization to revive profits. After barely four years, ING sold the largest part of its German bank BHF to Sal Oppenheim while expanding its Internet banking activities. These examples reflect the increased internationalized nature of banking competitions in three respects (Llewellyn, 1999). Customers that have global financing opportunities are able to arbitrage between domestic, foreign banks and capital markets. Banks are not restricted to business in their own country. Regulatory entry barriers have lowered, making it easier for banks to locate in other countries. In other words, many of the largest banks in the world have been struggling toward a new organizational model where terms as home market seem to become a by-product in a broader strategic vision. Swiss bank UBS, the fifth largest bank in the world measured by assets in 2000, has more than 80% of its assets outside Switzerland. Netherlands based bank ABN Amro owns a retail branch network in Brazil, 9,500 km from Amsterdam which constituted 15% of total profits in 2000. In 2003 the 30 largest banks held more than USD 7,586bn, or 39% of their assets, outside their home country. Successes in international banking are few, failures have been common. One of the more spectacular failures was the acquisition of American Crocker Bank by British Midland Bank in 1981, costing the bank USD 1bn over the next five years and forcing its strategy to retreat on the British retail banking market. Midland was acquired by Hong Kong based bank HSBC in 1992, a bank who subsequently showed that internationalization can be a profitable activity. Degree of Internationalization (DOI): The extent to which a Bank exists and operates in the international markets away from its home market can be measured by a metric called ‘Degree of Internationalization (DOI). Generally, it is measured in terms of the share of assets, revenues, profits, or employment that locates abroad. Literature Review The hypothesized positive relationship between performance and DOI goes back at least to Vernon (1971); many studies have followed. It is generally hypothesized that internationalization is good for firms and leads to better performance, for several reasons (Contractor, Kundu, and Hsu 2003; Dunning 1977, 1981). Going international implies that firms can spread fixed costs, such as operating overhead and research and development (RD) expenditures, through a greater scale and scope (Markusen 1984; Kobrin 1991). Internationalization allows firms to learn about domestic markets from their international market experience, thus improving performance (Kobrin 1991). Operating in foreign jurisdictions allows firms to access factors at lower cost (Helpmann 1984; Porter 1990; Jung 1991). This is particularly true for instances of FDI and other modes of direct involvement in foreign markets. Internationalization allows firms to cross-subsidize their domestic operations and provides greater opportunities for price discrimination and tax and price arbitrage. Although theory implies a positive relationship, the empirical evidence of the effects of DOI on performance is mixed (Hsu and Boggs 2003). For example, Sullivan (1994) lists 17 studies that test the relationship between DOI and financial performance, six of which find a positive relationship and five negative. The remaining six find no relationship. This reflects the consensus in the literature that the empirical results are highly dependent on the sample, the measures of DOI, and the measures of performance used. In addition to testing this link, the literature has moved in two distinct directions. First, to address a measurement issue, Sullivan (1994) attempts to more reliably measure the DOI of a firm by developing a novel index measure of internationalization that captures three of its attributes: Structural, Performance, and Attitudinal. As Ramaswamy, Kroeck, and Renforth (1996) show, there are several limitations to the empirical and theoretical underpinnings of Sullivans work as the DOI is measured in uni-dimensional method. There is also a growing literature focus on the shape of the relationship between DOI and performance. Contractor, Kundu, and Hsu (2003) list 15 studies that find the relationship between performance and DOI is linear: seven of the studies find a positive relationship, four a negative relationship and four no relationship. Two studies listed find a U-shaped relationship, and eight find an inverted U-shaped relationship. Contractor, Kundu, and Hsu (2003) and Lu and Beamish (2004) provide theoretical models for curvilinear relationships between DOI and performance. By analyzing data for 125 multinationals, Kim, Hwang, and Burgers (1993) document the importance of global market diversification in the joint management of risk and return. The measures of global diversification capture the number of foreign markets being operated in, as well as the pattern of a firms industries across those countries. A small literature investigates the performance of Canadian banks. DSouza and Lai (2004) estimate the effects of scope, scale, and concentration on Canadas six largest banks. They find that banks with greater concentration in their business lines are less efficient. Interestingly, for some model specifications, the effect of size on performance (as measured by return on equity) is negative. Using a different methodology, Allen and Liu (2005) estimate cost functions for Canadian banks and find that larger banks are more efficient. Neither study considers the impact of DOI on performance. Walid Hejazi and Eric Santor tried to address this DOI Performance realtionship by verifying the direction. i.e., weather DOI is driving superior performance or it is otherwise around. They also brought the risk factor of the country (in which the bank is venturing) into the equation and found that there is a weak but significant positive relationship between DOI Performance. Measuring the Degree of Internalization There are different approaches to measure a banks degree of internationalization, and estimating the degree of internationalization of a firm or bank is to some extent vague and a random process. An initial approach could be to construct a single item indicator or one-dimensional measurement as indicated above in the literature review; Sullivan (1994) reviewed 17 studies which all applied a single item indicator to measure the degree of internationalization, i.e. the ratio of foreign sales to total sales as degree of internationalization. However as indicated by many researchers and as identified in the literature review above from the work of Ramaswamy, Kroeck, and Renforth in 1996, the use of a single item indicator increases the potential error of measurement, because a single parameter is always more prone to external shocks which may or may not indicate the performance. An alternate approach is to combine several indicators into one index. Depending on the choice of indicators, this might provide a better approximation of the degree of internationalization, but the choice of indicators may be restricted on data availability rather than theoretical induction (Sullivan, 1994). We will follow the method that is most cited and adopted by the researchers in UN conference of Trade and Development. This method applies three single item indicators, which are combined in a composite index to analyze the degree of internationalization of a bank, the Transnationality Index (TNI). The TNI is one of the most cited indicators for internationalization (cf. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 1998, van Tulder, van den Berghe, Muller, 2001). The index is expressed as a percentage and calculated as an weighted average of Foreign assets to total assets ratio, Foreign gross income to total gross income ratio and Foreign employment to total employment ratio[1]. The percentage term of the TNI is that the degree of internationalization is presented in one scale, which by definition moves between 0 and 100. Also an internationalization index that incorporates income, staff and assets captures a richer picture of the banks foreign activities than that which would be captured by income, staff and assets separately (cf. Sullivan, 1994). Another attractive characteristic is that the TNI dampens the effect of finance companies or off shore funding constructions if a ratio were only based on foreign assets relative to total assets. A substantial amount of assets can obviously be expected to be located in tax havens or countries with lenient fiscal regimes. Such reported assets would be accompanied by low number of employees. Combining both employees and assets in the TNI would then create a more balanced view. The same argument also applies to investment banking activities that are concentrated in financial centers outside the home country; these ac tivities tend to generate a relatively high degree of income with fewer employees. Demonstration of Measuring DOI through TNI method There is also a flip side for this TNI. It cant take into account the recent technological changes, geographic boundaries, and we cant guarantee every bit of data to be same and uniform in all countries. Technological change: A disadvantage of the TNI might be that the construction of such an index cannot take account of the effects of technological change. Changes in technology can for example raise productivity and increase the assets or income per employee; if these changes are distributed evenly over the total bank organization then its effect on the TNI is probably limited. If the ratio of foreign assets per foreign employee increases in the same amount as the ratio of domestic assets per domestic employee, then technological change has no effect on the TNI. From the mid 1990s however technological advances have had other geographic distribution effects. For example, the development of â€Å"Internet† banks like ING Direct implies that the share of foreign assets and foreign income increases while staff and operations working for the Internet bank basically remain at home. This might potentially depress the true extent of internationalization measured by the TNI. Geographical boundaries: For Banks like Fortis, Belgian/Dutch corporate structure creates a problem to determine what region is home or foreign. This is solved in the database by denoting Benelux as home. Similarly, HSBC is the only bank that is not disclosing information for the home country, instead it is reporting Europe as ‘home region. Data availability: Not all banks have consistently reported detailed information on foreign assets, staff, income or profitability. Banks like SBC, UBS or Deutsche Bank did not report this information although they progressed significantly with their internationalization activities. A general remark is usually found in the financial report stating something like â€Å"due to the integrated nature of our activities worldwide a geographical breakdown does not provide additional information†; the information provided by British and American banks in the 1980s proves otherwise. Data collection from other sources provided valuable information. For example, foreign banks in the United States have to report their balance sheets to the Federal Reserve. Internationalization Patterns Internationalization for banks has progressed at different paces, with different purposes. Here we try to identify these internationalization patterns. As several motives are grounded in history, we start with a brief historic overview of internationalization, after that we shall discuss about various activities that the banks pursued as a part of Internationalization. Historic Overview Internationalization of banks is not a new phenomenon. In 1913 there were approximately 2,600 branches of foreign banks worldwide. The dominating factor at that time was colonization, over 80% of those branches belonged to British banks. The share of foreign banks accounted for one third of banking assets in Latin America and over one half in countries like South Africa, Turkey or China (Goldsmith, 1969). The financial empire of J.P. Morgan started out as a partnership financing American civil war loans from England (Chernow, 1990). International banking has in some respects not changed that much. Over time, innovations in financial instruments, telecommunication, information technology, organization innovation and the growing sophistication of customers have meant a dramatic transformation in the conduct of banking business and client relationships in international banking. The sheer size of international involvement of the present day internationalized banks has increased dramatically (cf. De Nicolà ³, Bartholomew, Zaman, Zephirin, 2004). Foreign assets of the thirty largest banks as a percentage of total assets have changed from 35% in 1980 to over 38% in 2003. However, the absolute size of foreign assets of the thirty largest banks has raised eleven fold from USD 650bn in 1990 to USD 7,571bn in 2000. The increasing importance of foreign activities has affected profitability and stability of internationalizing banks in their home country; it can also have serious effects positive as well as negative on the host economies. The intensity with which banks have pursued internationalization strategies also encouraged us to have a study on them. The dissolution of the British Empire meant that British banks represented the old internationalization of banking. American banks on the other hand have been on the rise since the Second World War. American financial aid, exports of American firms and the export of American ideology such as freeing of competition or creation of uniform markets were feeding ground for internationalization activities of American banks. From the 1960s onwards income in Western economies rose and banks developed more financial products to cater households and businesses as increasing scale of firms raised transaction volumes in corporate finance. American banks formed an apparent threat, seeking out the more profitable activities in investment banking in Europe, being equipped with better staff, more financial resources and more experience. The creation of off shore markets to circumvent (American) regulation and the political potential of seizure of capital belonging to communist states induced the first series of international activities, later propelled by the inflation of capital markets when oil producing countries forced serious wealth transfers. European banks either tried to work together in consortium banks to participate in these activities (Roberts Arnander, 2001) which in the beginning was a cost saving and knowledge rewarding construction or set up foreign activities themselves. Redistribution of the surpluses of oil producing countries found their way to emerging markets, with American banks leading the way. The growing volume of loans masked growing economic imbalances, brought to light from 1981 onwards when Latin American countries defaulted in their loans. Internationalization of banks became a worldwide event (United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations, 1991). Institutions like the IMF aided governments with restructuring loans, dealing with severed banks and capital markets in distress. Governments of the lender banks, especially the United States, faced potential crisis at home when the losses in emerging markets were transferred by the large banks to their home country. A consequence of this restructuring period was that in the 1980s capital strength and adequate supervision of internationally operating banks were major issues for bank regulators. A major coordination initiative took place in the Basle Accord of 1988, creating more transparency and uniformity among regulatory policies for internationally active banks. Among others, the Basle Accord became one of the drivers for the Japanese banks to retreat from the international arena. Japanese banks increased international activities sharply from the early 1980s fuelled by strong domestic economic growth, a fast pace of deregulation and large flows of foreign direct investment by Japanese industrial firms. The Japanese stock market decline from 1989 showed that (international) banking strategies had not been based on sound banking practices, affecting bank capital and loan quality at the same time (Canals, 1997). Japanese banks found ways to stave off restructuring of their bad loans for almost a decade, contributing substantially to the prolongation of economic recession, and steadily relinquishing their importance in international banking. A general trend fuelling international activities was the ongoing process of disintermediation from mid-1960: large firms found it more profitable to arrange loans directly with institutional investors, thereby bypassing the role of banks as financial intermediaries. Additionally, stricter monetary policies introduced from the late 1970s onwards eventually led to a steady decrease of interest rates consequently lowering income from the core business of banks. These trends forced banks to reconsider their strategic business portfolios. Non-interest income, especially the high margins of fees and commissions in investment banking, became a promising route. The liberalization of British securities markets in 1984 was followed by an unprecedented wave of acquisitions by host banks. By the end of the 1990s British owned investment banks or securities houses in London were few in number; London as an important financial center had become a manifest of internationalization activities of ban ks. Internationalization of banks was also a response to further regional integration and deregulation (cf. Group of Ten, 2001, January). In Europe especially, banks were aware that the competition for larger clients extended over the geographic borders, but the competition for retail clients remained a domestic issue. By the mid-1980s, European integration created momentum in Europe, redefining markets for banking activities on a multinational scale. Mergers and acquisitions became an important strategic tool for banks. They generally took place in two phases: domestic consolidation and then, international expansion; the creation of higher domestic concentration in order to more effectively compete internationally. Opportunity was provided by the capital markets (lower interest rates and higher stock market prices) and the regulators, privatizing banks or not opposing the takeovers. The close of the decade shows the financial might of just a handful of banks: the top 25 banks in 1980 ha d total assets of USD 1,858bn, equal to 30% of GDP. In 2000 this had risen to 64% of GDP, a combined total of USD 12,781bn. Of this amount, 41% are assets outside the home country. In fact, foreign banks practically control the banking sectors in many Eastern European countries; for some observers the â€Å"Single global banking space is almost a reality† (Mullineux Murinde, 2003). The foreign owned assets of the largest banks exhibit uneven geographic patterns, â€Å"Regions and/or countries of the developed world currently represent the most interconnected cluster of national banking systems† (De Nicolà ³, Bartholomew, Zaman, Zephirin, 2004). Internationalization pattern of Banks Starting in the 1970s, bank internationalization originally consisted of setting up banking activities in financial centers and economic centers. Part of this was related to incentives such as â€Å"follow-the-client† or aimed at increasing overall profitability. Additionally, restructuring and expansion in the domestic markets might have been cumbersome for some and impossible for other banks, further stimulating internationalization. Regulatory idiosyncrasies in the home market might be one explanation for this, but also the existence of a home bias ‘inertia: restructuring the domestic retail networks in the early 1980s might have been more difficult with vested interests in the home country such as labor unions. In particular, banks in smaller countries had to expand abroad for fear of anti-trust regulation at home. For most banks during the 1980s, international expansion supported their domestic strategies and was relatively small compared to the home country. So banks did not have to attract additional capital. When banks initiated larger acquisitions in the late 1980s and 1990s, external capital became more important as a source of financing. (Domestic and foreign) shareholders not only provided additional capital to expand. They also followed management more closely, and pressed for changes when expected results were not delivered. An increasing shareholder role and foreign profitability that was below expectations, led bank managers to change objectives in the mid 1990s: profitability should be internally generated, the domestic base strengthened and foreign activities divested if they did not contribute satisfactorily to total profitability. Banks can offer in principle five product categories: credit, securities, asset management, financial services and insurance. Also, five client types can be distinguished that banks can target: Governmental clients (nation states, supra national institutions), Corporate clients, Institutional clients (other banks, asset managers and insurers), Retail clients and Private clients. The case studies show that banks which entered new market activities actively serviced and targeted a wide range of clients and products. Two specific patterns have been identified: Ø Capital market activities, and Ø Foreign retail banking Capital Market Activities For capital market activities banks offer credit, securities, asset management, and financial advice to governmental, institutional and corporate clients. The majority of the banks had set up such operations by 1980: they participated in the Euromarkets, issued bonds to finance their own activities, and took advantage of the financial deregulation in the financial centers. Expanding capital market activities was spurred in the mid-1980s with the financial liberalization in the United Kingdom, and in the mid-1990s with the prospect of restructuring in the European Union. For several banks, the decision to participate in the capital markets heavily influenced their overall strategy. Paribas and J.P. Morgan decreased their commercial banking activities and transformed themselves into investment banks. Both banks however did not have the scale by the end of the 1990s to remain a major market participant in investment banking and sustain the increasing IT investments: J.P. Morgan was subsequently acquired by Chase Manhattan in 2000 and Paribas by BNP in 1998. Most of the acquisitions of UBS, SBC, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank in the 1990s were capital market related, steadily increasing their reliance on fee income instead of net interest income. The composition of the fee income changed: more lucrative (but volatile) fee income from financial advice and securities re-distributions on mergers and acquisitions was combined with more stable income from asset management activities. Period 1970s 1980s 1990s Reason Growth Eurocurrency markets (London, Paris, Zurich) Financial liberalization of American stock market Financial liberalization European capital markets (London, Paris, Amsterdam) Financial liberalization of Japanese capital markets Catch up new entrants to profit from current bull market, consolidation existing players Example Chase, Citicorp Deutsche Bank, ABN Amro, Societe Generale Credit suisse, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan Table 2: Development of Capital Market Activities Retail Banking International retail banking has been the domain of a selected number of banks. Chase and Citicorp set out to expand a retail network in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom in the 1950s and 1960s. European banks in the 1970s and 1980s on the other hand did not expand in retail banking in Europe, but expanded in the United States, especially in California where British and Japanese banks bought retail banks helped by lenient regulation. For most Californian banks, their sale was either instigated by regulation (banks that cannot be bought by domestic competitors due to an increase in market share or banks that need outside capital) or poor performance. By the early 1990s a large number of banks exited from the United States market: they found it difficult to transform these banking operations into profitable ones, and their exit was speeded by the deregulation of interstate banking (cf. Tschoegl, 1987). The general expectation was that this would raise the minimum scale of operations to compete effectively, requiring large amounts of additional investments. Banks that remained were for example HSBC and ABN Amro. Eight foreign banks, including all of the British banks, held retail networks in the United States in the early 1980s; by the late 1980s five had opted out. For European banks, the growth of foreign commercial bank networks took place from the mid-1980s. A limited number of banks (HSBC, ABN and Citicorp) have maintained these foreign networks throughout the period. From the 1990s, the following banks pursued retail banking strategies: Ø Santander in Argentina, Mexico, Chile Ø BBVA in Argentina, Chile, Mexico Ø ABN Amro in Brazil and the United States Ø ING in Belgium Ø HSBC in Mexico, Brazil, the United States/Canada and Hong Kong Ø Citibank in Germany Two groups of banks did not enter foreign retail banking, or only to a limited extent: Swiss banks and Japanese banks. Swiss banks had retail banking activities in their domestic market, but not outside Switzerland. Switzerland was a major financial center and as an economy ran a capital surplus; an explanation might be that setting up foreign capital market activities was a more logical foreign extension of activities then setting up or acquiring foreign retail banks. Japanese banks also entered foreign retail banking to a limited extent. Their activities were mainly concentrated in California, where the banks initially had some links with Japanese immigrants. More important, lenient regulators allowed takeover of Californian banks by foreign competitors. The existence of an opportunity set the ability to buy compared to other more regulated banking markets has probably been the main incentive. Organizational form Banks which decided to enter new markets or to strengthen their market position have had a wide range of options available to them as to how they could proceed in implementing their foreign banking activities. Looking back at activities, there has been a strong rise in the number of each of the approaches used. Three specific developments in organizational form have been identified: Branch Networks Alliances and Joint Ventures Internet Banks Branch Network In general, the objective to build a branch network has been to assist foreign clients, finance activities more cheaply or to evade home country regulation. Activities in financial centers were set up, usually starting with London, New York and Singapore or Hong Kong. This was then expanded to second tier financial centers and economic centers in Europe, the United States, Asia and Latin America. Period 1970s 1980s 1990s Incentive Break down consortium Trade relates service existing clients Increase in trade and exports Liberalization of Capital markets Open up markets (Spain) Growth in Asian Capital Markets Opening of Eastern European markets Increase volume of securities market Example Citicorp, Bank of America, Lloyds, Barclays, ABN Amro, NMB, WestLB Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank Table 3: Development of Branch Networks Alliances and Consortium banks Consortium banks were mainly a feature of the late 1960s and 1970s. With these joint ventures, banks tried to create a platform to service foreign clients and undertake corporate finance activities, while sharing the costs of building such an activity independently. In the beginning of the 1980s, there were a number of banks who relied on the consortium banks to provide an alternative for a foreign branch network. These were Amro and Midland. Subsequently, a number of banks built their foreign networks by buying out the other shareholders in the consortium banks. During these alliances banks probably also acquired detailed information of the partner banks. This could be concluded from the observation that ING unsuccessfully acquired former InterAlpha partners from the mid-1990s for its expansion in Europe. From the 1990s, alliances between banks either had to develop specific skills neither bank could achieve alone, or serve as a defensive move in wake of expected restructuring in the European banking market. This usually was accompanied by share exchanges. Alliances to acquire or share specific skills Alliances to ensure future market position Ø Royal Bank of Scotland Santandar (1990) Ø BNP Dresdner (1988-2000) Ø Socià ©tà © Gà ©nà ©rale — BSCH (2000) Ø BBVA UniCredi

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

The Deceitful George in John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men :: Steinbeck Of Mice and Men Essays

The Deceitful George in Of Mice and Men Steinbeck gives a lot of reasons for George to stay with Lennie, but his critics also have some merit in their criticism that the story isn't believable. Steinbeck's critics suggest that Steinbeck is "simply sentimental in this regard." There are some very compelling reasons George would like to stay with Lennie... but being "sentimental," towards Lennie has nothing to do with it. George and Lennie's ultimate goal is to "get the jack together," buy a few acres of land they can call their own, "an' live off the fatta the lan' (pg. 14)." George talks in great depth about how their dream house is going to have individual rooms, a kitchen with a fat iron stove, and an orchard. But, George only recites this yarn when he wants to get Lennie calmed down. Lennie has the mentality of an 8 year old, the memory of a senile 80 year old, and only desires to tend rabbits. George fully understands that Lennie can easily be manipulated. Even though the dream to have a piece of land is shared, George knows that by himself he cannot amass a large enough "stake," to buy it himself (pg. 33)." Just as the boss thought, George was "takin' his pay away from him (pg. 22)." Throughout the story George recites a description of how easy his life could be if he didn't have to keep up with Lennie. "God a'mighty," he could "get a job, an' work, an' no trouble (pg. 11)." At the end of the month, he could take his 50 bucks and go into town and buy whatever he wanted. George says these things like he's only teasing, but in actuality he's dead serious. George started building his alibi when he first arrived at the farm. He wanted to seem like he deeply cared for Lennie, and that Lennie was an overall good person. George then strengthened his alibi, and gave a glimpse of his true motives when he talked to George about why he stopped making fun of Lennie. George said that he told Lennie to "jump in," and that Lennie did it and "he damn near drowned (pg.