Assessing the Relative Health of a Family Business.

To assess a relative health of family business, scholars and other researchers who are interested in this issue employ various criteria. Some of the criteria used rest in the fields of corporate governance, family governance, business performance, philanthropy, social responsibility, ethics and environmental sustainability. This paper will discuss these commonly used criteria in assessing the health of family business, and relate two of them to Gopher IT, which is a family business.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Assessing the Relative Health of a Family Business. specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Criteria Used by Scholars and Others in the Assessment The first criterion, which can be used in assessing the health of family business, is the system of corporate governance present. As family businesses develop, the relationships between administrators, owners and workers become intricate (Ward 38). A sound corporate governance system establishes the right policies to handle this intricacy. It forms a firm organizational system that clarifies reporting lines, duties and designation of the tasks. Corporate governance detaches policy direction from the daily operation of the business, and distinguishes management from ownership. A healthy family business should have clear guidelines to choose the right family individual, in order to ascertain that management transition does not interrupt the development of the business (Aronoff 2). Prosperous family businesses emerge from years of commitment and effort. Successful family businesses pass on accumulated experience, knowledge, and skills to other family members (Davis 6). Besides, corporate governance helps in preserving family harmony. Members of a family may have disputes among themselves on the administration of the business. A firm governance structure assists in solving such disputes enabling family members to concentrate on other significant i ssues. In addition, a governance structure offers clear strategies for recruiting family or non-family members, and unbiased performance-oriented promotion is vital for the continuity of a family business (Mallin 76). Management of personnel and recruitment are key aspects in achieving the success of a family business in the long term. Lastly, corporate governance promotes open decision-making and processes that guarantee justice assessing and rewarding both non-family and family workers, in order to avoid anxiety and maintain the reputation of a company.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The second criterion, which can be used in attaining the health of a family business, is the family governance. Family governance includes the constitution, which stipulates employment and shareholding terms, as well as governance institutions (Rouvinez 56). Institutions of family governance aid in reinforcing family harmony and building strong relationships with its company. Family institutions augment the links of communication amid the family and its company, and also give chances for family members to discuss issues that can be linked to the family business, through letting members of the family gather under planned structures (Fishman 74; Rouvinez 56). These structured activities assist in enhancing understanding, and promote consensus among members of the family. Family members must be well-versed in the activities and intention of any institutions of family governance. Also, it is essential to ascertain that family members can differentiate the functions of such institutions and the governing units of the business, including the top management and the board of directors (Abouzaid 37). This may be realized through developing written processes for such institutions, and distributing them to all the members of the family. Some family governance institutions of a fam ily business might have include family councils, meetings and retreats. Family councils offer families a medium to settle issues and reflect on position of the business and family. All the members of the family may reconnect with each other, and family matters may be discussed logically instead of being left to aggravate into more serious matters. Family retreats may be performed from two to five days at a different place. They offer a neutral arena to talk about matters regarding the family and business. The third criterion is business performance. Healthy family businesses have a performance program, which assesses and reimburses workers on how well they accomplish their tasks without reference to family knots (Fishman 78). Moreover, healthy family businesses involve workers in this process. Workers should understand the review process and its significance. They also ought to complete a self-evaluation form in regard to their strengths, weaknesses and plans of professional growth for the following years. It is also vital for the company managers to discuss the future of the employees with them. Workers who are uncertain of their prospect may not deliver well. Managers of a healthy family business also discuss the roles that they should accomplish with all the nonfamily workers (Fishman 78).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Assessing the Relative Health of a Family Business. specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The fourth criterion is philanthropy. Philanthropy is a vital factor for families devoted to the business (Rouvinez 43). A healthy family business may offer meaningful employment for all the family members who are not part of its workforce. Also, it should uphold family values along generations. Charities that get established by commercial families represent a massive share of philanthropic benevolent around the globe. Family foundations also face operational and managerial choices rega rding how best to utilize their finances (Gersick 2). Some family businesses have established that in the present, intricate situation, affiliations with nongovernmental organizations or non-profits can uphold social objectives of the family. Such foundations exploit the knowledge and local existence of other institutions, especially if these are executing projects in new localities. That is why, to guarantee continual development and high performance, family foundations should merge expertise with passion and a firm assessment of its consequences. Assessment is vital as it enables the members to distribute resources efficiently. Family foundations must center their monitoring and assessment endeavors on learning and enhanced making of decisions. They should as well approach functions with the attitude of an investor reducing costs of operation and making sensible investments in planning, tactics, qualified staff, and assessment. The fifth criterion is social responsibility. Distrib uting wealth through social responsibility creates a reputation for the business (Poza 21). Money cannot assure a high social effect. Besides the monetary and operational challenges, which every charitable activity encounters, families have to handle the critical challenge of cultivating a consensus on the management of their charitable actions along the generations. Various family foundations have solved this concern through creating an open spending budget, which lets family members sponsor projects that they want. The others provide them with the chances to serve as board members or to directly contribute to charitable projects via volunteering plans and onsite visits. This system is extremely effective in ensuring the next generation gets involved in it early. The sixth criterion is wealth management. Families require strong competence for controlling their wealth outside the core holdings (Fishman 31). The wealth may exist as liquid assets, stakes in other firms or semi liquid assets. Successful wealth management assists in maintaining harmony through offering a source of money to the family together with liquidity events, and diversifying risks. For big fortunes, the most excellent solution is a wealth-management bureau serving an individual family.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More A bureau of wealth-management providing services to sets of distinct families can be an alternative when individual lacks for the scale to validate the expense of a single-family bureau. A family wealth-management bureau may offer several services, which raise the possibilities of success including rigorous criteria for divestment/investment and a high degree of professionalism. The final criterion is ownership. Upholding family management or control while increasing new capital for business and gratifying the cash requirements of the family is an equation that should be dealt with because it is a key source of disagreement, especially transferring power from generation to generation (Mallin 76). Lasting family businesses standardize matters regarding ownership, such as the way shares that may be sold outside and inside the family through shareholders’ accords, which have been designed cautiously to last for over 15 years (Fishman 229). Most family businesses limit the sale o f shares in order to maintain control. Family members who want to sell their shares should offer the right of first negation to their siblings and, subsequently, to their cousins (Fishman 85). Besides, the holding usually re-buys shares from present family members. Policies of payout are typically long-lasting, in order not to de-capitalize the business. Since exit gets limited and dividends are relatively low, a number of family businesses have turned to generational liquidity dealings, to gratify the cash requirements of the family. These can assume the shape of tax of family shares to the workers or from publicly operated businesses in the investment with the earnings returning to the family. Assessment of Gopher IT Family Business The structure of Gopher IT corporate governance gets well documented in a strategic plan. It comprises policies and values of the business. It defines the roles of the key players of the family business (Sahlman 98). Employees are the in-laws, cousins and non family members who have finished school recently. However, the company’s corporate governance system lacks for clear guidelines to make a choice of the right family individual in the line of succession. Therefore, conflicts always arise in regard to the successor of the wife and husband. Hence, management transition interrupts the development of the business. Also, corporate governance is not part of the family’s culture. Gopher IT as a family business includes favoritism. Family members get employed regardless of whether they become qualified or not. There is no record that the managers have the right education to hold the managerial positions (Sahlman 98). There is also no record that managers have some experience in running the business. Consequently, the business lacks harmony as well as clear strategies for recruiting family or non-family members; thus performance-oriented promotion becomes biased. In such a case, the business does not have free decision-m aking and processes that guarantee justice in assessing and rewarding both non-family and family workers; these create anxiety in the company. Assessment of Gopher IT Family Business Family governance Gopher IT has a clear system of family governance. The business has a constitution, which stipulates employment and shareholding terms as well as governance institutions. The management of Gopher IT falls under family members, and there is also a board of directors. Membership in the board of directors is mostly reserved for the family members although it may also be given to the non-family members who can be trusted. Roles and duties are clear at Gopher IT. The owners hold more than one role in the business and have different positions as managers and directors. Laura Welch is the general manager who oversees the running of the company (Stempler 53). She handles all the purchases, opening and closing of the office every day. Jack Welch, her husband, is the Sales and Marketing Manager. He creates promotional activities, monitors sales and distributes all the marketing materials. Chris Welch, their son, is the Financial Manager. He is responsible for finance, payroll, accounting taxes, billing and matters related to budgets. The non-family managers are operations manager and human resources manager. The operations manager is in charge of daily operations. The human resources manager supervises employees, and his roles include hiring and firing of new applicants. There is a proper governance in Gopher IT to implant discipline and prevent the conflicts for the business to continue developing. The company communicates its vision, rules and regulations, decisions and ideas to all its members. However, Gopher IT lacks for family governance institutions, such as family councils, which offer a medium to settle issues and reflect on family projects. Consequently, it lacks a proper entry criterion, and family equality does not become practiced in family making business res olutions. In conclusion, after assessing Gopher IT family business, we realized that the company needs to improve its corporate governance. First, we realized that corporate governance is not a part of the family’s culture. We, also, found out that although the company’s corporate governance system has employment policies, it lacks for clear guidelines to choose the right family individual in line of succession. Again, Gopher IT, as a family business, includes favoritism. Family members become employed irrespective of their qualifications. The management is in the hands of family members. As for a board of directors, the membership there becomes reserved for the family members although it may also be given to the non-family members who can be trusted. The company shares its vision, rules and regulations, decisions and ideas with all its members. However, Gopher IT lacks family governance institutions, such as family councils, which could offer a medium to settle issues and reflect on family projects. We made these assessments using different criterions that get used, by scholars, to assess the relative health of family business. The first criterion, which we used, was the present system of corporate governance. Corporate governance detaches policy direction from the daily operation of the business, and distinguishes management from the ownership. Gopher IT lacked a sound corporate governance system, with the right policies to handle this intricacy. It lacked a firm organizational approach that clarifies reporting lines, duties and designation of the tasks. The second criterion that we considered was the family governance. The family governance includes the constitution, which stipulates employment and shareholding terms as well as governance institutions. We realized that Gopher IT lacked links of communication amid the family and its company. Therefore, it did not offer opportunities for its family members to discuss issues that became linked to the family or business through letting members of the family gather under planned structures. The third criterion that we used in this assessment was business performance. Gopher IT has a performance program, which assesses and reimburses workers on how well they accomplish their tasks regardless the family ties. Also, Gopher IT involves their workers in this process. The company ensures that workers get to understand the review process as well as its importance. Also, workers at Gopher IT complete a self-evaluation form mentioning all their strengths, weaknesses and plans of professional growth for the next year. The fourth criterion that we employed to assess Gopher IT was philanthropy. Gopher IT practiced philanthropy activities. Also, the company offers meaningful employment for the family members who are not part of its workforce. The fifth criterion that we used to assess Gopher IT was social responsibility. Gopher IT distributes wealth through social responsibility, which cr eates the reputation of the business. The company, also, can handle the critical challenge of cultivating a consensus on the management of their charitable actions along generations. The sixth criterion that we used to assess Gopher IT was wealth management. Gopher IT has strong competence in controlling the wealth of the company outside the core holdings. The wealth exists as liquid assets, stakes in other firms and semi liquid assets. Successful wealth management assists in maintaining harmony through offering a source of money to the family together with liquidity events and diversifying risk. The final criterion that we used to assess Gopher IT was ownership. Gopher IT Upholds family management, while increasing new capital for business and gratifying the cash requirements of the family. This ensures that disagreements do not occur, especially in transferring power along the generations. Hence, since Gopher IT meets most of these criteria of measurements, we can say it is a succ essful family business. Works Cited Abouzaid, Sanaa. IFC Family Business Governance Handbook. Washington DC: International Finance Corporation, 2008. The Business in Society Gateway. Web. Aronoff, Craig. Family business Succession: The Final Test of Greatness. Marietta, GA: Family Enterprise Publishers, 2003.Print. Davis, John. â€Å"The Family Business.† Harvard business Review 19.20 (2001): 6. Print. Fishman, Allen. 9 Elements of Family Business Success: a Proven Formula for Improving Leadership Relationships in Family Businesses. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print. Gersick, Kelin. Generations of Giving: Leadership and Continuity in Family Foundations. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2004. Print. Mallin, Chris. Corporate Governance. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print. Rouvinez, Denise. Family Business: Key Issues. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. Print. Sahlman, Wiiliam. â€Å"How to Sustain a Family Business.† Harvard Business Review 4.75(1997): 98-108. Pri nt. Stempler, Gerald. A Study of Succession in Family Owned Businesses. Thailand: University Microfilms International, 1988. Print. Ward, John L. â€Å"Governing Family Businesses.† Economic Perspectives 10.1 (2005): 38-42. Web. This essay on Assessing the Relative Health of a Family Business. was written and submitted by user Eden Kerr to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The Maltese Falcoln essays

The Maltese Falcoln essays The Maltese Falcon starts out with Sam Spade, a private detective in San Francisco in the late nineteen twenties, sitting at his desk in his office when a Miss Wonderly came in. She said she was from New York looking for her sister who possibly got kid napped and who is probably in the San Francisco area. Miss Wonderly said she met a man named Thursby at a parcel office who suppostedly had her sister. While Miss Wonderly was telling the story, Spades partner Miles Archer came in. Miss Wonderly said she had a meeting the man that night and that she wanted one of them to tail him afterwards to fine her sister. Spade asked if she could describe the man, and she did, a little too well Spade thought. Miss Wonderly offered two hundred dollars for the job and Archer quickly grabbed a hundred and said he would do it. After Miss Wonderly left, Spade told Archer to watch his back. That night, while Spade was sleeping, he received a phone call. It was the police telling him that Archer was murdered. Spade got up, made and lit a cigarette, and went to the scene. Spade got there and got the facts. Archer was found in an alley, probably shot at close range, with a British-made Webley revolver. Spade observed how Archers gun was in his holster and that his jacket was still buttoned. Spade phoned his secretary, Effie, and asked her to call Iva, his partner's wife, to break the bad news. Then he returned to his apartment. Spade sat awake drinking and smoking and thinking about his partners murder when the police knocked on his door. The cops informed Spade that Thursby had been shot. The cops wanted to milk Spade for information on this job Archer was doing and who it was for. Spade gave the police no information, and the police left irritated. The next morning Iva was in the office waiting for Spade. When Spade came in, Iva jumped to him and started kissing him. Spade told her that it wasnt a good idea for them too to ...

D&I Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

D&I - Essay Example In communicating the vision for D&I, the post stressed that collaborative relationship should be fostered, and that the vision should be operationalized throughout the organization as a means of communicating the firm’s D&I policies. What is meant by â€Å"collaborative† relationship is, however, unclear as it relates specifically to D&I. Collaboration should be more explicitly fleshed out as to the parties, the activities, and the manner by which it is operationalized. â€Å"Collaborative relationship† could apply to all policies and initiatives of management, thus how it particularly advances D&I should be more thoroughly elaborated. The quotation from Anderson & Harris (2010) is well-taken, however, and would have been a good springboard for further discussion. Finally, the identified barriers to effective D&I implementation principally redound to resistance to change, which is a valid argument. However, the change sought to be implemented by D&I is more of a long-term transformation (Koch, McMillan & Peper, 2011). Response to the post of Student 2: John Kolojaco The post makes a salient point about the adoption of diversity practices as part of business norm, which this reviewer takes to mean the institutionalization of practices and behaviours which encourage tolerance of individual differences within the organization. The quotation by Rink and Ellemers (2008), however, is slightly misplaced as it assumes the acceptance of diversity among groups as a prerequisite to the adoption of more tolerant practices, not the other way around. That being said, the mentioned articulation of policies and a â€Å"living mission statement† are excellent but tentative first steps which must be followed by concrete action to ascertain effective leadership towards D&I. The answer to the second question (i.e., â€Å"making sure efforts expressed externally apply internally†) infers – validly, it appears – that most D&I efforts are ineffective because they result from a failure to internally apply what is externally promoted by the company. The implication is that so-called D&I corporate advocacies are used mostly as marketing slogans or catchphrases, to project a favorable image of the company that may engender stronger sales and greater profits. The principal issue therefore is the lack of credibility on the part of management as a result of the lack of transparency in its decisions and actions, which strains all facets of the management’s relations with its stakeholders (Tapscott & Ticoll, 2003). John’s sharing of his personal experience is well appreciated, and effectively delivers a first-hand justification of the contention that discrimination need not be ethnic, gender-based, racial, or one of the other attributes associated with D&I. Any perceived personal difference that sets an individual apart from the group (in this case, a difference in educational attainment) has the potential f or discriminatory acts – a very perceptive observation from John. Response to the post of Student 3: Soosai Xavier The post makes an excellent case for the â€Å"obligation, responsibility and accountability† of middle managers to ensure the effectiveness of what is initiated at the CEO level (i.e., corporate commitment to D&I) at the lower levels. Dovetailed with the earlier

The influence of risk attraction and risk aversion in the adoption and Thesis

The influence of risk attraction and risk aversion in the adoption and diffusion of the extreme sports - Thesis Example As contemporary society has become preoccupied with safety and certainty, risk has steadily become a sinister phenomenon. Society has become quite obsessed with reducing risk and uncertainty that activities not directly approved by the mainstream society are immediately considered disagreeable. This essay discusses the influence of risk attraction and risk aversion in the adoption and diffusion in extreme sports. In sport, risk refers to the likelihood of actual, physical danger. In extreme sports like big wave surfing, snowboarding, and base jumping this has been assumed to indicate extremely high levels of risk, an extremely high possibility that something bad will happen, and a significant possibility of death (Kerr, 2005). Hence involvement in extreme sports has been deemed undesirable and deviant. Reasons for engagement in extreme sports are most frequently associated with the idea of ‘adrenaline rush’ or a craving to take socially undesirable and pathological risks (Cecile & Laurendeau, 2010). The hypothesis is that risk functions as a driving force for partakers with little talent but a frantic desire to hook up with the image of prestige related to extreme sports. In a culture where in taking needless risks is generally viewed as wild, irresponsible, ridiculous, and irrational, there appears to be something of a pattern toward the growing recognition of risk and uncertainty in leisure activities. In sport, there is substantial proof that risk taking is integral to numerous sporting activities. The concept of edgework by Lyng (1990) views intentional risk taking as testing the limitations of one’s capacity while sustaining sufficient control to effectively balance the limit between uncertainty and certainty. In the literature on the reason for this edgework tendency, the sensation-seeking attribute, described as the â€Å"seeking of varied, novel, complex, and intense experiences† (Cecile & Laurendeau, 2010, p. 129), has been e xtensively studied. Many outdoor activities have been reported to draw people who have high levels of sensation seeking attributes. The tendency to seek excitement, adventure, and arousal may accurately shed light on why individuals with high levels of sensation seeking attributes take part in extreme sports. Risk Attraction and Risk Aversion in Extreme Sports Several theorists argue that risky activities provide an escape from a society that is ever more ‘constricted by comfort’ and risk-averse (Moran, 2004, p. 60). This assumption states that some individuals feel too much pampered by the materialistic conveniences of modern society and thus look for exciting, risky activities in an attempt to break out of too much comfort. As contemporary life â€Å"is now tame and increasingly controlled† (Moran, 2004, p. 60), some individuals seek risk in outdoor activities. Hence, the need to take risks may signify an intentional reaction against the ordinary and risk-avers e daily living. Even though this theory is exploratory, it appears likely that estranged individuals may experience a stronger sense of awareness when they are in the verge of death or serious injury (Pain & Pain, 2005). In fact, Schrader and Wann (1999 as cited in Moran, 2004, p. 62) claimed that one way of attaining a semblance of power over one’s life is by facing death through participation in risky activities. Another

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

A Midsummer Night’s Dream The play A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Williams Shakespeare contains two distinctly different subplots within the lager structure of itself, which can be considered as a remarkable characteristic of the dramatic construction in general and of Shakespeare’s play in particular. Although Shakespeare borrows the themes, characters and stories from the history of the ancient Greece and Greek mythology, the play-within-a-play structure shows his creations and his own work. The play-within-a-play structure serves the function of recapping many important themes of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and allows Shakespeare to comment on the nature of art as well as criticize the acting of amateurs who perform and play on the stage yet do not understand what they actually do. The first play-within-a-play is a performance of Pyramus and Thisbe played by the laborers. It is similar to the main play in many aspects including commons in the story of the Athenian lovers and some of the overall themes. Pyramus and Thisbe face parental disapproval in the subplot just like the couple Lysander and Hermia do in the main plot. Despite its dramatic premise, the craftsmen play the love story of Pyramus and Thisbe in such a comical way that parodies the melodramatic Athenian lovers and gives the play a very joyful and comical ending. The role played by the darkness of night creates another similarity as it causes the romantic confusion in both plays. Pyramus, in the dark of the night, mistakenly believes that Thisbe has been killed by the lion when he sees her bloody mantle; he, thus, commits suicide because of this misinterpretation. Likewise, the mix-ups and meddling of the love fairy Puck cause the Athenian lovers face a miserable situation, which also happens at ni ght in the wood. Though the performance of the craftsmen makes the Athenian lovers’ story which involves strong emotions become comical and hilarious, the sub play serves as symbol for the larger play itself. It is explained while the lovers and Theseus and Hippolyta are mocking the ridiculous performance of the laborers, the audiences watching the lovers watch the craftsmen’s play are concurrently aware of the lovers’ own absurdity. Moreover, the play-within-a-play of the craftsmen suggests the strict requirements and the limit of the theatre. The workmen establish a very unlikely dramatic troupe. All of these characters appear comical because of their superficial characteristics and personal traits. They bumble, mispronounce words, and play the part of the fools. These untutored craftsmen are worried about their new dramatic roles for Pyramus, Thisbe, a wall, a lion, and a moon since none of them has had a previous acting experience. In spite of their preoccupation, the leader of the troupe Quince fails to help the actors correct their pronunciation and master important techniques for dramatic performance. During the rehearsal time, instead, he only tries to match the actors in hope that they will play out. On one hand, the play-within-a-play is offered as a comic interlude to display Shakespeare’s creativity. One the other hand, the sub play helps the audiences understand some of the overall themes in t he main play. That is, the play does not clearly explain how the craftsmen come together and how or by whom they are selected to be worthy to play. These characters and the sub play they perform exist to raise questions about the fitness for acting a certain role in a play. The issue of whom is worthy to putting on a play is also one of the concerns in the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Another aspect of this issue comprising who is responsible for bringing a play to the audiences or what thoughts and actions are proper in order to bring a play to stage should be also concerned. The conversations among the craftsmen-actors in which they argue whether they can bring an actual wall to stage and conclude that it is impossible to carry out demonstrate this point. Another play which can be considered as a second play-within-a-play is written by the Oberon, the King of all fairies. He creates a play in which the mortals are the performers. Marriage and reconciliation are the means for resolving all conflicts. In Oberon’s play, Helena gets her love, Lysander and Hermia stays together, and Titania has a lesson of obedience. As the workmen turn the tragic drama of the Athenian lovers into a comic farce by their awful performance, Oberon does the same when his fairy Puck accidentally put the love potion on eyes of the wrong Athenian man. This mistake causes the Athenian lovers experience an intensive misery, which also creates a comical situation. Similar to the first play-within-a-play, the second serves an important role to signify the larger play. In â€Å"What hempen home-spuns have we swagg’ring here?† Amateur Actors in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Coventry Civic Play and Pageants, Clifford Davidson discusses the play-within-a-play structure and its purpose. He indicates that the play-within-a-play raises questions of imagination and stage reality (Davidson 87). Also, the author argues that Shakespeare uses this structure to parody the older dramatic styles of the public theaters fashionable when they tended to use the bombastic language and clumsily use the mythological subjects in their performance (Davidson 88). Above that, Davidson points out a very important issue that Shakespeare makes a comparison between the inadequate of the acting amateurs and the highly professional work conducted by his own company through the parody with the acting of the craftsmen in the subplot (88). According to the author, however, Shakespeare seems to have a negative view on the play and the players in many provincial cities and towns, which probably can cause severe misrepresentation about the quality of the amateur actors or companies (96). Davidson explains that by saying that â€Å"for the spectacles that cities like Coventry were able to mount were surely not so rough and â€Å"amateurish† as we might imagine† or â€Å"the quality of the production were surely much, much higher that Shakespeare’s play-within-a-play in A Midsummer Night’ Dream would seem to suggest† (96). The play-within-a-play is analyzed studied from a different point of view in the article The Act of Change in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Alan Bellringer explores the art of acting which he claims is â€Å"a valid part of the art of living† and its importance (213). He asserts that â€Å"the sub plot about the Athenian workmen’s underserved success in the amateur dramatic competition is thematically relevant and supportive† (Bellringer 213). On the other hand, the author sees acting and plays as a mean for normal, simple and blundering people like the character Bottom to â€Å"escape from their stereotyped tradesmen’s personalities through their imaginative art of drama, the world of ‘shadows’†. Through the play and acting, these craftsmen-actors can â€Å"briefly change their status in life† and â€Å"find fulfillment in their new-found importance as actors†. Regardless of â€Å"a mere matter of talented extroverti sm†, Bellringer compliments the performance of the craftsmen for their contribution to the success of the play even though it is intended as a ridiculous performance used to satirize the dramatic play of Pyramus and Thisbe and turn it into a comical play (215). He stresses the dynamism as the essential quality of this comedy and states that the purpose of play-within-a-play is about the â€Å"use of change† or the â€Å"amendment of life† (Bellringer 217). The play-within-a-play structure recaps the principles themes and ideas of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and has a significant contribution as a representation of the main play. The similarities in the sub play clarify the overall scheme. It also serves as a tool for Shakespeare’s creative work and a mean for the audiences to distinguish between the fiction and reality and realize the nature of art in theatre. Works Cited Bellringer, â€Å"The Act of Change in a Midsummer Night’s Dream†. English Studies 64.3 (1983): 201-17. International Bibliography of Theatre Dance. Wed. 10 Apr. 2014. Davidson, Clifford. â€Å"†What hempen home-spuns have we swagg’ring here?† Amateur Actors in a Midsummer Night’s Dream and the Coventry Civic Plays and Pageants†. Shakespeare Studies 19 (1987): 87-96. International Bibliography of Theatre Dance. Wed. 10 Apr. 2014.

Harry Potter Archetype paper -- J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter, in many ways follows the hero journey and archetype. Throughout the book many of his adventures and exploits leave many of the others feeling as if he were a hero. The journey he takes part in is ones that make me feel he's living a hero's journey. Harry was born with many special talents and abilities. The following paragraphs I state my views and how Harry fits the hero archetype and journey. In many ways Harry Potter fits the hero archetype. A few of the examples are as follows. When Harry was born his life was planned to be one of an ordinary wizard, but due to his parent?s death by Voldemort he was destined to live a normal muggle life with the Dursleys. Also at age ten Harry discovers he was a wizard was a surprise to him not knowing what lay ahead of him. Harry inherited many of James and Lily's traits and skills in the wizarding world, he was soon to face many of the challenges they faced. For example Harry using the flute to memorizing Fluffy to access the chamber bellows chapter sixteen page two hundred seventy five. In chapter three Harry states that when ...

Economic Problems in Brazil

Aphrodite was the goddess of love, beauty and sexuality, she was often naked The Romans called her Venus, because of her beauty. Aphrodite was born of the foam sea when cronus cut of Uranus gentiles and threw them into the sea, Aphrodite lived on Mount Olympus with the other supreme deities. In which she married a homely craft man god named Hephaestus, her parents where Uranus or Zeus and Dione, she hardly where clothes and she cause the Trojan War.Aphrodite thinks noting but love and her work is pleasure, often Aphrodite would have in affairs with other guys. When the hero Peleus was married to the sea-nymph Thetis, all the gods were invited to the ceremony, but one god. So she got a golden apple and rolled it to the three gods who were sitting down and on that golden apple it had a note saying â€Å" For the fairest† the three gods began to fight over the apple so they go up to Zeus to tell him pick which of them is the most beautiful one.Zeus had a hard time choosing who, s ince all three of them were dear to him so he let the handsome youth god the Trojan Prince Paris choose. The goddess where bribing him except for Aphrodite was trying to seduced him, telling him â€Å"I will give you the most beautiful god†, so he think about it and he go’s with Aphrodite’s bet.