The Middle East - 2012 Words

The Middle East has been one of the most volatile and violent regions since the end of Second World War in 1945. The declaration of Israel in May of 1948 caused widespread violence and conflict among the Arab nations in the Middle East and the Jewish state of Israel. The declaration caused a chain of significant events that to this day still have a bearing. Some key events that followed the declaration of Israel were the war of independence, the Deir Yassin massacre, the displacement of Palestinians and the 6-day war. The British failed to keep control of their mandate. This was due to the effects of the First World War which left Britain with food shortages and a lack of finance. They were unable to control Jewish immigration and the disturbances and conflict between the Jews and the Arabs, which forced the British to leave the Middle East as they believed that the United Nations would do a better job of keeping peace. On 29th November 1947 the United Nations voted in favour of a pa rtition which planned to divide Palestine into three areas: an Arab state, a Jewish state and an International zone for the cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The Jews agreed to the partition whereas the Arabs did not as they felt that the Jews were getting the larger share of land. An immediate reaction to the declaration of Israel was the war of independence also known as Al Nakba or ‘the catastrophe in Arabic. The Arab league was furious with the UN partition plan, which planned toShow MoreRelatedThe Middle East821 Words   |  4 Pagesorientalist idea of the Middle East. It represented the faulty equation of Islam= Muslim= Arab= terrorist or religious fanatics. From the image of the magazine cover, a man dressed in the Middle-East attire can be seen standing on what looks like a balcony with the landscape of the Middle-East in the background. The image in the background presented the Middle East as underdeveloped in an effective manner. The image in the foreground by the top right corner signified the Middle East as an oil-hoardingRead MoreThe Middle East2106 Words   |  9 Pagesbeen more relevant than in the Middle East. Understanding the Middle East as it was and currently is requires an in depth analysis of the events that have so shaped the region. By peering into the premodern, early-modern, modern, and contemporary periods, a comprehension of the Middle East and how it is situated within the global framework will be realized. The premodern period, which ran until 1450, contained two events fundamental to the history of the Middle East, the Birth of Islam, and the splitRead MoreThe Middle East1118 Words   |  5 PagesBahauddin Foizee :The Middle East, especially the West Asian region, is the most volatile region in the world. The major reason of such regional instability is the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran. One of these two rivals, Iran, has been suffering from a weak economy for decades because of the economic sanctions that are imposed on it by the International community for quite a long now. However, on 14th July, 2015, a deal was signed between Iran and the UNSC 5 plus 1 (Britain, China, FranceRead MoreThe Middle East871 Words   |  4 Pagesarticle discusses the evolution of the Middle East and how much of the Middle East is currently coming out of, and in some cases still going through difficult revolutions. The article points to three, possibly four, defining stages in the Middle East. The first is the stage of the Cold War, the second is that of the Old Order, the third is the end to the Old Order, and the fourth is the current stage that they are in now. The point was made that much of the Middle East’s resentment to the West originatedRead MoreThe Middle East1661 Words   |  7 Pages18th centuries in the Middle East were periods marked by severe financial crisis, increased decentralization, and stronger external control by western nations. It was clear that members of Ottoman and Persian military and bureaucratic organizations needed to prove themselves worthy in comparison to the European nations in order to shift the global balance of power back towards the East. As a result, drastic political, economic, and social reforms were implemented in the Middle East throughout the 19thRead MoreThe Involvement Of The Middle East1598 Words   |  7 Pagesincluding innocent civilians, opposing forces, and U.S. troops and its allies. Trillions of dollars have been spent on the involvement in the Middle East for decades by the United States government, which orchestrated these results. The burden financially, has been measured in trillions of dollars, on multiple expenses, all relating to the involvement in the Middle East. Not only have these events impacted the U.S. financially, but many people have had to pay the ultimate price, with millions of peopleRead MoreThe Impact On The Middle East1430 Words   |  6 PagesAll throughout history from the from the pre-modern period all the way to the contemporary period, there have been major events both inside and outside of the middle east that have had an impact on the middle eastern communities. While some were more drastic than others, they all had an impact one way or another that helped shape the society we know of today. Starting with the pre-modern period, in 1095, the pope had called for a crusade which was in fact the only successful crusade. In this situationRead MoreCulture Of The Middle East4300 Words   |  18 Pagesexplored the culture of the Middle East because I find it very interesting and different from my own. I feel as if many people hold a strong negative feeling against people from the Middle East because of terrorist attacks in the past. Middle Eastern culture is different from American culture and some people are not culturally aware so they do not understand Middle Eastern culture, therefore, people judge off of what they know. After visiting and researching the Middle East I have came to change myRead MoreWomen Of The Middle East937 Words   |  4 PagesThe women in the Middle East is less fortunate than any other women around the world. They was not giving the fair opportunity to develop their rights in the home, workplace or even have the opportunity to voice their opinion in politics (Elizabeth, 2010). Being a woman in the Middle East has always been one of the hardest things to endure starting as a child from punishment all the way down to adultery. There laws are one of a kind that has a wide range from the Islamic laws also known as the ShariaRead MorePortrayal Of The Middle East1589 Words   |  7 Pagesthat do not exist in the Middle East, but that when so many male characters are portrayed in such a way it fails to contribute anything greater to the study of the Middle East where parts of its history has already been tainted by Orientalists and revisionists. Since Al-Shaykh has already boldly challenged female stereotypes in her novel it would possibly bode well if you managed to contest some of the male stereotypes as well in an effort to break the mold that the Middle East has been casted in. The

Harpo Productions Inc Free Essays

HARPO Productions Inc. is a privately held company and it was founded by Oprah Winfrey and her lawyer Jeff Jacobs in 1986; a production company that used her first name spelled backwards. In 1988, the company took full charge of Winfrey’s show. We will write a custom essay sample on Harpo Productions Inc or any similar topic only for you Order Now It also includes HARPO Films and HARPO Radio, Inc. The facilities are on the city’s Near West Side neighborhood of Chicago and with additional offices in Los Angeles. In 1990s, â€Å"This Company had annual revenues of about $150 million with the number employees working for this company† (Encyclopedia of Chicago). The HARPO Productions, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of HARPO Entertainment Group. The organization has grown to include over 220 people, of whom 68 percent are women and has a modest turnover of 10 to 15 percent. In 2002, The Oprah Winfrey Show impressed the industry with an average of 7. 2 million viewers per episode, beating the second-ranked show by 35 percent. (â€Å"Oprah. com†) The HARPO Productions Inc. is the â€Å"umbrella company† for the entertainment and media entrepreneur, talk show, host, actress, and producer Oprah. Winfrey used her popularity on television to expand into movie production and publishing, making her the most successful African American business owner in the United States and one of the wealthiest entertainers in the world. † (â€Å"Reference for Business†) The HARPO Productions Inc. is one of the most successful corporation in the entertainment history. HARPO Productions Inc. has an internship program to help students and you ng professionals offering a platform in the business world. This will provide the possibility for them to be hired in a future and become successful intern’s students who demonstrate dedication and good learning skills. Oprah is the most interested and committed to concentrate on important topics in order to help others to succeed in life, for example – alcoholism or building family relationships. Throughout the years she has learned how many people suffer with these two big issues, and therefore; she dedicated many of her shows specifically to this topic. Moreover; it helped a lot to increase the power of her show and her popularity in many different ways. The main goal is to help people to feel better in their own lives. The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Oprah Winfrey started her career in 1973 as a broadcasting reporter on a radio station in Nashville, Tennessee. Later, in January 1984, she began to host WLS-TV’ program – a morning talk show in Chicago, which in September 1985 became â€Å"The Oprah Winfrey Show†. According to Business Network BNET â€Å"on September 8, 1986. ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ was televised nationwide. Less than a year later, the program was ranked the top syndicated talk show in the United States†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. In June 1987 the show received three Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Host, Outstanding Talk/Service Program, and Outstanding Direction. † The â€Å"Oprah Winfrey Show† stayed number one day time talk show for 12 years strait and winning twenty five Emmys plus seven that went to Oprah herself. Despite Oprah’s difficult childhood, in 1988 she became â€Å"the first woman in the history to own and produce her own talk show†. (www. fundinguniverse. om) Today, Oprah is an owner and the chair of HARPO Productions Inc; along with HARPO Stu ¬dios, HARPO Films, HARPO Print LLC; and HARPO Video, with a total net worth of over $1 billion. Oprah is the Chairman and Chief Executive officer but Erik Logan and Sheri Salata have been named Co-Presidents of HARPO Productions Inc. Both are to continue being presidents with remaining base at HARPO Productions headquarters in Chicago. Tim Bennett was the active president until May of this year and Douglas J. Pattison is the Chief Financial Officer. According to the article â€Å"Bloomberg Businessweek† the â€Å"Salata and Logan will lead HARPO Productions efforts as the company develops new programming beyond for â€Å"The Oprah Winfrey Show† for the syndication, prime, cable, radio, digital, and emerging platforms. † The idea is for Salata to continue in her role as the executive producer until the end of â€Å"The Oprah Winfrey Show† 25th season that is going to be next year in 2011. Oprah Winfrey announced an agreement with the Discovery Health Network in which she will over the net work, renaming it OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network). With a network under her name, she hopes to inspire viewers to greater actions. Oprah is a leader through her show and on-air book club because she motivates the viewers to change their habits. †I said from the beginning that this was an opportunity to step out of the box and make the kinds of shows that make my heart sing,† She noted. â€Å" It’s about unleashing the power of human potential; that’s what it’s all about† (Oprah. com). As the years progressed, Oprah quickly realized that she needed to drastically change the direction which her show was heading. She used renewal strategy to differentiate her show from other day time talk shows. She moved away from thrilling and controversial stuff and started using more positive topics. She began to focus on promoting constant inspiration and personal and professional growth. The main targets are women ages18 and up but Oprah is not shying away from male’s listeners either. Several of her shows were done specifically for men or were focusing on men’s issues. Her show began to feature poetry, music, literature, as well as human issues, which helped to create much stronger relationship with her audience. To expand her audience, Oprah added to her repertoire Oxygen Media a cable channel, O – The Oprah Magazine, and the Oprah’s Book Club on-air reading club. All of these medias have the same core value – they all promote personal growth and share the life-enriching mission and message of the founder and guiding force of HARPO Productions Inc. – Oprah Winfrey. The fundamental believe of HARPO Productions Inc. is that media can make a positive difference and that individuals can change the world for better place. This includes the definition of social responsibility â€Å"to do the right things and act in ways that are good for society†. (textbook, pg 93) Some of the examples of making the world a better place are topics related to spirit, health, relationships, books, money, world, and community. For instant: Oprah is reaching out to her audience with plea to help children of abuse. She â€Å"initiated The National Child Protection Act†(www. fundinguniverse. com) in 1993, the Oprah Bill, which established a â€Å"national database of all convicted child abusers. † (www. fundinguniverse. om) Several of her shows were done on catching predators, child molesters, convicted child sexual offenders, and interviews with detectives and police officers dealing with this particular issue were Oprah asked her audience to help to catch these fugitives. The viewers respond was enormous because her listeners are mainly women and moms and for them the number one priority is the safety of their children. Another example would be the creation of â€Å"Oprah’s Angel Network† where Oprah is encouraging her audience to do charitable work (volunteer for Habitat for Humanity) and make â€Å"charitable financial contributions†(www. fundinguniverse. om) for example to provide scholarships for college students. Oprah understands that not everybody have means to help financially and therefore according to Look to The Stars, The World of Celebrity Giving â€Å"Oprah gave 300 members of her audience $1000 each to donate to a charity of their choice. † Also, she encourages her viewers to help out in their own communities by donating time and skills. There is no surprise why in 2004, Oprah Winfrey show became the top-rated day time talk show for 17 years with 48 million viewers, or why she was awarded with â€Å"Favorite Talk Show Host† at the 30th Annual People’s Choice Awards that year. The HARPO Productions Inc. Strategic Management Process of identifying companies mission, goal and strategy was extremely successful. According to â€Å"HARPO Creative Works† the â€Å"mission statement for Oprah Winfrey Show is to use television to transform people’s lives; to uplift, entertain and enlighten; to make viewers see themselves differently; and to bring a sense of fulfillment into every home. † If Oprah didn’t change the curse her show was heading, she would be probably stuck somewhere in between all the other similar day time talk shows as Maury Povich show or Martha Stewart show. This is exactly why HARPO Productions Inc. has been so triumphant. HARPO Productions Inc. competitive strategy is to be significantly different. Oprah successfully managed to differentiated her talk show from all the other shows that use scandalous, shallow, and sensational topics. She became an icon and yet stayed approachable at the same time. According to â€Å"Syndication’s Stars: Trustworthy And Influential† the â€Å"Influential Personality Index† illustrates how far ahead from other competitors Oprah’s personality ranked. Influential Personality Index Oprah Winfrey 554 Dr. Phil McGraw 306 Tyra Banks 236 Judge Cristina Perez 235 Ellen DeGeneres 223 Judge Lynn Toler 215 Judge Joe Brown 208 Judge Judy Sheindlin 195 Rachael Ray 187 Regis Philbin 186 The undeniable bond between her and her audience based on trust, honesty, and truth ensures loyal viewers. Moreover; the fact that Oprah shares her personal life, her personal struggles and AHA moments with her audience makes her even more human and real, therefore; her audience can relate, which creates even stronger connection in between the two. There are not that many talk show hosts that reveal the true ups and downs of their personal lives to their viewers. For example Martha Stewart is a convicted felon which makes her a less trustworthy as a role model. The strong connection is not limited to only U. S. audience. The Oprah Winfrey Show is available to over 120 countries worldwide. Some of the episodes focus on global issues and perspectives, which would be another area where Oprah show is differentiating itself from the other shows. The geocentric attitude episodes are focusing on women and the lifestyle in different countries, probable issues and problems women have to face on everyday basis, but also what might be enriching for U. S. women when they see what other cultures do, don’t do, or do differently. For that matter the show features â€Å"the world’s most engaging guests from the famous to everyday people all changing the world in which we live. † (harpocreativeworks. tv/info) Oprah is reaching out to every home on the planet with the mission â€Å"to make viewers see themselves differently; and to bring a sense of fulfillment. â€Å"(harpocreativeworks. tv/info) There is no other show that does that. The purpose of each show is to inspire the audience and let each message provoke an actions. The talk show host Oprah Winfrey with her dynamic personality has an unique power of â€Å"Magic Touch†. She can turn books into bestsellers, every product mentioned on her show experiences rocketing sales. According to Latif Lewis’ article from Daily Finance â€Å"an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show [illustrates] just how influential the media mogul can be on product sales†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. It’s quite amazing, the effect that a vote of confidence from one human being can have† on success of single product or business as a whole. Moreover; Oprah’s enormous competence consists in turning â€Å"no names† into a brand names. The article of Latif Lewis, â€Å"Oprah’s magic touch can make or break your business† talks about Lisa Price and her â€Å"beauty and skin-care line† and how this not so known beauty products had a very valuable promotion: â€Å"an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show†. After that, Lisa Price was experiencing extremely high demand for her products. She made some financial deals and her â€Å"company took off. Carol’s Daughter stores can now be found in several U. S. states and the products are carries in retailers like Sephora and Macy’s†. How to cite Harpo Productions Inc, Papers

Penny for Your Thoughts How to Sell Thought Leadership to Your Team

PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS: HOW TO SELL THOUGHT LEADERSHIP TO YOUR TEAM You’ve seen the light; you know thought leadership is essential to get your business to the next level. How do you get everyone else onboard? Let’s look at some tools to help you measure thought leadership. Then we’ll talk about leveraging thought leadership, as well as how to promote thought leadership within your team. How to Measure Thought Leadership Altimeter Group is part of Prophet, a global brand and marketing consultancy that helps businesses build relevance and deliver engaging customer experiences. Altimeter helps create and develop content and social business strategies. Brian Solis is a Principal Analyst at Altimeter and the author of X: The Experience When Business Meets Design. In a recent exclusive interview, he said thought leadership can be measured by social media responses, like followers and â€Å"likes,† or book sales and placement on the New York Times Best Sellers list. â€Å"These are the numbers that become the standards for the next generation of thought leaders,† Solis said. It all comes down to exposure. Social media’s return on investment (ROI) an be measured in exposure. Credit: Odm Group Thought leadership also can be measured by tracking an increase in unique visitors to the company website, as well as repeat customers, or the amount of time visitors spend on the site and how many pages they view. Requests for quotes and interviews can also signify growth as a thought leader. An increase in new client meetings, an increase in the size of new business growth, and new business leads could all be used to measure success in thought leadership. Here are nine ways to measure thought leadership. Credit: Odm Group How to Leverage Thought Leadership From a basic, monetary standpoint, the reason to develop thought leadership is to leverage it to the benefit of the company’s bottom line. Since launching its Smarter Planet initiative in 2008, IBM is proof a thought leadership campaign can leverage real monetary results. By 2010, the Smarter Planet initiative had already generated $3 billion in revenue. Couple that with double-digit growth from thousands of clients, and it’s clear to see a successful return on investment (ROI) on the company’s thought leadership. More recently, IBM believed so strongly in the power of social relationships that it quantified annualized new revenue for each new contact at nearly $1,000. But it’s also important to remember that achieving short-term business benefits is only half the battle. Continuous, constructive, and meaningful contributions to thought leadership can contribute to a company’s aggregate growth over time. The more a company’s thought leadership develops, the more it can be leveraged to increase the company’s visibility, ensure future inclusion in events like the World Economic Forum, provide opportunities for top company officials to network, and promote media exposure. â€Å"Influence is the ability to change behavior,† Solis said. Finding out where business is bottlenecked and fixing it—to the benefit of the customer and the business—is what thought leadership is about. â€Å"The opportunity for true thought leadership is trying to make an impact, trying to make a difference,† Solis said. â€Å"For an empathetic thought leader, that is satisfaction.† In many cases, the key to identifying areas of need is knowing where to look. While a news agency can provide some insights on business trends in the form of articles and business interviews, the real story is now in the comments section. That’s right—the readers themselves collectively wield the leverage that comes with broadcast public opinion. Engaging with the audience at the source can yield real benefits. Understanding what concerns the audience may have is, as always, paramount to successful thought leadership. Reading, listening, and participating—not just talking—can keep the momentum going, Solis said. â€Å"It’s so enlightening. Do more of the former than the latter,† Solis said. â€Å"I publish less than I listen. Listen, learn, and participate. Social media is a true democratizer when it comes to the ability to learn and share.† How to Promote Thought Leadership (Internally) Just as effective thought leadership requires listening to audiences, building thought leadership within a company calls for listening to employees—and providing them with a safe environment to share ideas. How much thought leadership employees are able to contribute ultimately depends on what their company’s leadership organization looks like, Solis explained. Some companies say they want thought leadership in theory but don’t recognize or reward it in reality. Sharing ideas can be risky for employees if the leadership feels threatened and wants to keep a potential thought leader from becoming associated with the company’s brand or recognized within the industry. But it’s also risky for a company to reward rising thought leaders, only to see them looking for the next big contract. The solution lies in fostering the right combination of encouragement for employee thought leadership, and employee loyalty. That allows thought leaders to rise through the ranks and greatly benefit all involved. Solis said promoting thought leadership internally requires opportunities to inspire employees to learn more about their field and be better at what they do. And that’s good for the bottom line. Rising thought leaders also can boost a company’s ability to engage in social media. That’s a component of many thought leadership campaigns that needs improvement. â€Å"If you look at HR, training, and growth, we’re still talking about the Dark Ages in most organizations today,† Solis said. Today’s opportunities to engage with customers, and provide meaningful, helpful thought leadership to a responsive audience, are absolutely unprecedented. A lot of that is thanks to social media. â€Å"The idea of thought leadership in an era of social media is an incredible gift,† Solis said. â€Å"Speaking personally, there’s a sense of aspiration. When you get to see [your ideas] have traction, it’s very rewarding.†

America In The 19Th Century Essays - Labour Relations, Free Essays

America In The 19Th Century Essays - Labour Relations, Free Essays America In The 19Th Century In colonial America, most manufacturing was done by hand in the home. Some was done in workshops attached to the home. As towns grew into cities, the demand for manufactured goods increased. Some workshop owners began hiring helpers to increase production. Relations between the employer and helper were generally harmonious. They worked side by side, had the same interests and similar political views. The factory system that began around 1800 brought great changes. The employer no longer worked beside his employees. He became an executive and a merchant who rarely saw his workers. He was concerned less with their welfare than with the cost of their labor. Many workers were angry about the changes brought by the factory system. In the past, they had taken great pride in their handicraft skills; now machines did practically all the work, and they were reduced to the status of common laborers. In bad times they could lose their jobs. Then workers who would accept lower wages might replace them. To skilled craft workers, the Industrial Revolution meant degradation rather than progress. The Industrial Revolution was dawning in the United States. At Lowell, Massachusetts, the construction of many mills and factories began in the early 1800s. Factory owners were in desperate need of workers, and as most jobs in these factories required neither great strength nor special skills. In turn the owners thought women could do the work as well as or better than men. In addition, they were more compliant. The New England region was home to many young, single farm girls who might be recruited. The only thing that hindered many from working was the belief that sooner or later factory workers would be exploited and would sink into hopeless poverty. Economic laws would force them to work harder and harder for less and less pay. Factory workers were able to persuade the women to work by building decent houses for them to live and adult supervision to look after them. They were encouraged to go to church, to read, to write and to attend lectures. They saved part of their earnings to help their families at home or to use when thy got married. Faced with growing competition, factory owners began to decrease wages in order to lower the cost-and the price-of finished products. They increased the number of machines that each girl had to operate. In addition, they began to overcrowd the houses in which the girls lived. All of this to save as much money as they could. This caused many to leave and others to hold protests or strikes. As the factory system grew, many workers began to form labor unions to protect their interests. Labors tactics in those early times were simple. Members of a union would agree on the wages they thought were fair. They pledged to stop working for employers who would not pay that amount. They also sought to compel employers to hire only union members. In the next few decades, unions campaigned for a 10-hour long working day and against child labor. Meanwhile trade unions were joining together in cities to form federations. A number of skilled trades organized national unions to try to improve their wages and working conditions. The efforts brought about many strikes and protests. It was a fact; things were changing in America. Some people liked it and others felt they were going to be thrown out and de-skilled. Unions and protests proved to be successful in many cases but nothing could change the fact that this nation was involving to one large factory.

Creating Predictable Growth With Kieran Flanagan From HubSpot

Creating Predictable Growth With Kieran Flanagan From HubSpot Do you suffer from shiny object syndrome? It’s difficult to not become enamored with the latest marketing tactics, trends, and technologies. We are distracted by them because they may offer hope or promise 10X-ing marketing results. Instead, stay focused on helping your business grow to generate revenue! Today, my guest is Kieran Flanagan, vice president of marketing and growth at HubSpot. Kieran uses traditional marketing methods to help HubSpot and other brands generate additional traffic and revenue. We discuss how to create predictable and product-driven growth. Challenge to sustain growth is more difficult as a business gets bigger Find new ways from existing channels or brand new channels to grow from People, products, and businesses change; adapt marketing sales plans Strategic Growth: Think logically about how to grow into being a big company by providing good products and customer experience Develop scalable distribution plan and use search engines to find right product fit 3 Stages of Fit: Product market, product channel, and ROI Growth Power Law: 60-70% of growth comes from one or two channels Build out next 12 months of growth, and predict where it’ll come from Keyword Search: What product does and solves How to choose best acquisition channel and strategy for scalability Establish and measure goals and expectations for different channels Develop work culture that embraces failure; experiment by taking small risks Keep remote team engaged, focused, and motivated by being clear on goals and proactive with communication Links: Kieran Flanagan HubSpot Brian Balfour Loom Wistias Soapbox Write a review on iTunes and send a screenshot of it to receive a cool swag bag! If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Kieran Flanagan: â€Å"You always have to grow each and every year, regardless of how well you’re doing.† â€Å"Think logically about how you are going to grow into being a big company.† â€Å"Build out the next 12 months of your growth, and predict where that growth is actually going to come from.† People would want good clarity around the goals and the most important goals over the course of what we try to do in a quarter.

Predatory Practices in financial borrowing and lending contracts Research Paper

Predatory Practices in financial borrowing and lending contracts - Research Paper Example Predatory Practices in financial borrowing and lending contracts The following are some of the characteristics of predatory practices in money lending. First, those targeted are chiefly the low income people and the elderly in society. Second, the loans’ costs and terms often change at the closing and differ greatly from what they were at the beginning or what was agreed. Predatory practices are also often accompanied by aggressive sale approaches. There are also repeated re-financing options after a short time lapse so that lenders end up collecting addition fee or penalties, consequently denying borrowers such as home owners the equities from their security. Notably, in most of predatory lending practices, the lending is not often in line with the borrower’s capacity to repay since the lender’s center of attention is often the foreclosure. In addition, the vulnerable borrower is always unaware of the underlying truths of the truth, terms, conditions, and consequences of the deal (â€Å"Predatory Lending† 4). That is, there is always quite a lot of misunderstanding about the nature of loan and the amount to be repaid since such transactions has high but hidden fees that could be hidden from the borrower’s eyes. The borrowers are often tricked by the aggressive sales. Most affected in this regard are uninformed groups, which end up borrowing under unfair loan terms. Due to the harmful effects of such loans to society, the government has numerous remedies in form of laws and regulations. These remedies include the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act (HOEPA), and the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). Others are the Fair Housing Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act, and Special State Anti-predatory Lending Statutes, in State Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Acts, and common law fraud and unconscionability. This paper explores some of the predatory practices in lending, pointing out and explaini ng the parties’ responsibilities. Predatory Practices Predatory lending practices are not only unfair but also fraudulent and deceptive. In other terms, predatory lending entails the imposition of abusive and unfair terms on loans for borrowers. In fact, the phrase ‘predatory lending† generally refers to many specific illegal activities in the loan sector. Nonetheless, different states have various laws against each specific type of illegal loan activity. Notice should be taken about the distinction between predatory lending and predatory mortgage servicing. The latter refers to the deceptive, fraudulent, and unjust practices of lenders and servicing agents in loan or mortgage servicing processes. Unlike predatory lending, this latter activity takes place post loan origination. An example of a predatory practice is that of a lender deceptively convincing a potential borrower to accept an unfair and abusive loan term (Nasiripour 122). Second, a lender may methodica lly breach the terms so that the borrower finds it hard to defend against it (Aleo and Svirsky 119). These predatory practices may be done through certain types of  credit cards, largely  subprime, payday loans, and overdraft loans. In all these cases, the lender may set the interest rates at considerably and unreasonably high levels. Mostly targeted by predatory loan lenders are borrowers with some collateral to back their loan requests. This collateral could be a car or a house, which the

Finance and Public Administrators Research Paper

Finance and Public Administrators - Research Paper Example There are also a number of roads that need to be repaired and the plan is to start with the ones that have the greatest need. In addition to those capital requirements the expenses relating to the day to day operations of the city needs to be taken into account. Non-profit organizations play a useful role in the city and so a certain level of funding is normally made available to them so that they can continue to achieve their goals. The Budget According to Horngren et al (2000, p. 178 -180), a budget is the financial plan of an organization which is communicated in quantitative terms. It forms a blueprint for management to follow in an upcoming period and outlines the operational goals for a specific period of time. It states where financial resources will come from and what they will be used for. Planning is achieved through the budgeting process and forms the basis for decisions made by management. Horngren further states that budgets represent a major aspect management control sy stems. As long as they are administered in an appropriate manner they have the following characteristics. they compel planning they provide criteria for performance; and they promote the coordination and communication of activities in the organization. Planning is a major function of the budget as it seeks to quantify the plan. The plan specifies the type, quantity and quality of services that will be provided, estimating the costs and deciding how they will be paid for. The Council prepares the estimates of income than will be generated from various services provided at a cost by the city. These services include and are not limited to transportation, water and sewage. Other income generators include property tax and corporation tax, and income tax. The expenditure includes both capital and current expenditures. The performance criteria are useful both for staff and for sub-contractors who perform jobs in the city. They set the standard for achieving the goals and objectives of the departments. In coordinating and communicating the plan all the management personnel in these departments coordinate the tasks for their subordinates so that the goals of Council will be achieved. The objectives of the departments are communicated in such a way that they are clearly understood by employees. Controlling and administering the budget helps to ensure that resources are obtained and expended based on plans. Budgets are used to monitor the flow of resources to ensure that they are used as intended and that there are no significant over-runs. According to Chan (2009) the annual budget prepared in the public sector is not only a planning document but also includes projections of revenue collection as the law authorizes well as information on expenditure that has been proposed by executives and approved by the legislature. This implies that the budget is used as tool for management control as well legislative oversight. Any transactions and activities undertaken have to be i n keeping with the budget. Chan (2009) indicates that this type of accounting is described as management accounting in business and budgetary accounting in the public sector. It is in this same way that the City Council will go about controlling and managing public funds. Table 2 shows a summary version of the city’s budget for the fiscal year ending 31st March 2012. Summary of Budgeted Expenditure for the Fiscal Year Ending 31 March 2012 Budget Allocation/Revenue $10,000,0000