Essay on Bless Me Ultima - Dreams - 1358 Words

Symbolism in Dreams #9;In Rudolfo Anayas Bless Me, Ultima, the author uses Tonys dreams as a way of displaying various symbols. Three symbols that are used often are weather, water, and the Golden Carp. Weather is used to represent conflict. Water represents cleansing, and rejuvenation. The Golden Carp symbolizes religion and Tonys beliefs. Because dreams are a not an exact mirror of reality, they become the perfect tool for introducing symbolism. The author uses the dream as a way to access the recurring themes of the book. #9; Weather affects the lives of everyone. When the weather turns foul, it makes life more difficult. Stormy weather in Tonys dreams represents the conflict in his life, and the lives of those†¦show more content†¦Weather, in the form of wind, thunder and lightning, and mist, provides powerful symbolism for the conflicts in Tonys life.#9; #9; Cleansing and rejuvenation are themes that are suggested by the author, and symbolized through the use of water. In one of his dreams, Tony refers to the waters of the river, quot; I must lift the muddy waters of the river in blessing to our new home!quot; (Anaya 26) The cleansing qualities of the river show Tonys desire to put the tragic happenings of his life behind him, and begin anew. His desire is to be washed clean from the haunting memories if Lupitos death. Another reference to water is the waters of baptism. In Tonys dream his parents argue about what water he was baptized in. quot;Oh please tell me which is the water that runs through my veins.quot; (Anaya120) The waters of baptism represent cleansing, but in the dream his parents argue over whether he was baptized with the holy water of the moon, or the salt water from the oceans. This represents his parents pulling him in two opposite directions. Later in this dream Ultima explains to both of Tonys parents that in reality both of their waters are the same. This shows that Tony is rejuvenated by the idea that he dose not have to choose between one parent or another, but can take the best of both of them. Because of the water Tony is able toShow MoreRelated Voice and Ambivalence in Bless Me Ultima and Baby of the Family1865 Words   |  8 PagesVoice and Ambivalence in Bless Me Ultima and Baby of the Family  Ã‚        Ã‚   Bless Me Ultima and Baby of the Family serve as the coming of age stories of two minority children. Rudolfo Anaya and Tina McElory Ansa skillfully reveal the richness, diversity, and conflicts that can exist within the Hispanic-American and African-American cultures primarily through the dream sequences in each novel. Dreams are the mechanism used in each work to magnify the individual experiences and conflicts Tony andRead MoreAntonios Dreams in Bless me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya Essay845 Words   |  4 Pagesnovel, Bless me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, a boy goes through many more experiences than any child in the hot summer days in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. He witnesses the deaths of his close friends and family. This boy expresses his emotions and grief through his dreams, only to wake up with fear and confusion in his mind. Antonio’s life is filled with dreams that foreshadow future incidents, as well as influences Antonio’s beliefs of religion and ideas of inn ocence. Many of Antonio’s dreams foretellRead More Bless Me Ultima Book Report Essay1963 Words   |  8 Pages Book Report: Bless Me, Ultima Title of Work: Bless Me Ultima Author amp; Date Written: Rudolfo Anaya 1972 Country of Author: New Mexico, USA Characters: Ultima- An old Curandera who comes to spend her last days with Antonio and his family. She is Tony’s mentor and helps him to find the right path for his life. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Antonio Marez- A young boy who is torn between his parents: a Marez and a Luna. But with the help of Ultima, he discovers hisRead MoreComparing To Kill a Mockingbird and Bless Me, Ultima.1601 Words   |  7 Pagesinfluential person who guides a child through this stage is a family member. Family is one of the most important factors that help shape a persons life. In the critically lauded and moving tales of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, the protagonists are all children, newly thrust into the world, faced with extreme obstacles and situations that test their character. Each one deals with these obstacles in different ways because of their different personalitiesRead MoreThe Controversy over Ultima1038 Words   |  4 PagesThe Controversy over Ultima There is some controversy over a character in the book Bless Me Ultima, by: Rudolfo Anaya. Ultima is a controversial character because some people think she is a witch or bruja. Other people think that she is a curandera or an herb doctor. She could be a bruja, a curandera, or she could be both. There are some credible events to explain how she is a witch. Ultima has some people accusing her of being a witch. There are quite a few people that believe she is a witch.Read MoreRights of Passage917 Words   |  4 PagesRights of Passage Antonio, from Bless Me, Ultima, lives stuck in a world of in-betweens, a world of borders. He is forced to navigate this world and find his place within it, all while trying to please his parents. Tony’s surroundings and cultural background lead to this in between world and force him to pick a side before he has even began to grow up. In Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima, Antonio is constantly searching for answers about his future and the world around him; he finds these answersRead More Bless Me Ultima Essay881 Words   |  4 Pageslake â€Å"cracked with laughter of madness† and the â€Å"ghosts stood and walked upon the shore†.(109) Who dares dream such gruesome images? Antonio Marez. He questions God, he communicates with the dead, the dead ask him for blessings. Just who is this Tony? Tony is only a seven year boy who lives in small town of El Puerto. But he is no ordinary boy, he is the hero of Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima. The novel guides you through Tony’s life. From childhood to adulthood. It tells you about the experiencesRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of Bless Me Ultima855 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Bless Me Ultima, is a critically acclaimed novel of all time†(NEA); however, it is also one of the most banned books in American literature. People enjoy the book a lot, but there are also some people who want the book to be banned for good. For example, in 1992 Bless Me Ultima, was banned at Porterville high school for â€Å"many profane and obscene references, vulgar Spanish words, and glorifies witchcraft and death(banned library). Bless Me Ultima, is a story of a boy named Antonio who lives in aRead MoreBless Me, Ultima Literary Analysis714 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"Bless Me, Ultima† by Rudolfo Anaya Literary Analysis Throughout the context of â€Å"Bless Me Ultima,† it is evident that there are many motifs and examples of dichotomy. I believe that Anaya uses the previously mentioned elements of literature in order to provoke his readers’ thinking and help embody a struggle of understanding the world we live in. Motifs in this novel include: family, dreams, religion, education, and the list continues. For examples of dichotomy, the idea of good versus evil isRead MoreBless Me, Ultima Literary Analysis Essay714 Words   |  3 PagestSam Ennis Period #4 20 September 2012 â€Å"Bless Me, Ultima† by Rudolfo Anaya Literary Analysis Throughout the context of â€Å"Bless Me Ultima,† it is evident that there are many motifs and examples of dichotomy. I believe that Anaya uses the previously mentioned elements of literature in order to provoke his readers’ thinking and help embody a struggle of understanding the world we live in. Motifs in this novel include: family, dreams, religion, education, and the list continues. For examples

What Is Fraught with Internet Addiction in the Workplace Research Paper

Essays on What Is Fraught with Internet Addiction in the Workplace Research Paper ï » ¿Social media in the work place It's a slow day at work and Janet is bored out of her mind, she decides to access one of her favorite blog website "Mysociallife.com". As she updates her status the humorous material she posts easily consumes her attention, meanwhile a client has been trying to contact her about very important business that may propel her career and company. Several attempts are made to contact Janet; unfortunately the client has dealt with this issue before and decides "enough is enough". Few hours pass and Janet finally realizes her messages but by then it is too late and her boss is furious. Janet realizes her mistake could and likely end her career simply because of an internet blog. These situations are being depicted as this sentence is being written and it is getting out of hand in the work environment. While the internet is a positive tool for communication in the workplace, it can cause conflict and lack of productivity. These reasons have negative consequences for both employer and employe e. Privacy is fundamental for any company and its associates as individuals to function properly and maintain credible business relationships with the public. The internet has become a normal part of any business environment and since it is a format for communication, the workplace employee can use its resources to socialize on popular internet websites such as face book, twitter, YouTube etc. This behavior can cause a rupture of events such as security risk for a company if its employees use pirated softwares, download music files from the internet that are copyright protected, or watch porn on the company's computers. In addition to that, many employees tend to illegally use a network or upload illegal material to the web server of the company (Overly). An employee violates the principles of privacy of a company if in the capacity of a salesman, he/she tends to develop professional relations and social networks with the customers on behalf of the employer. Likewise, an employeeâ€⠄¢s act of copy-pasting an article regarding his/her employer’s success in his profile on some social media website raises many concerns of privacy as the employer has to face the risk of copyright infringement liability (Cox and Rethman 19). Irresponsible use of internet by the employees causes the employers to incur millions of dollars as corporate liability. The internet and its variety of web content create a lack of productivity for employees due to social media or fuel existing addictions like internet gambling. With its popularity on the rise, internet provides the employees with opportunities to gamble at the workplace. In many workplaces, employees are provided with unlimited supply to internet. Employees working in the corporate work culture own their own computers and use the internet without even raising any suspicion in the employers. This ignorance affects the workers' productivity and efficiency at work (Griffiths). In addition to this issue there are the very common websites that decrease productivity in the workplace which causes people to waste a lot of time using the social networking websites. Gradually, people develop a habit to check their profiles on these websites several times in a day so that they can update their own status and comment on those of their friends, thus shifting their attention from work to these w ebsites. According to the statistics of the Nucleus Research, 77 per cent of the total of 237 corporate employees browse Facebook while they are at work, which causes a decline in productivity by 1.5 per cent in the companies that provide their workers with full access to Facebook. Negative behaviors of workers include viewing porn and online shopping. In addition to causing a loss of productivity, internet use causes companies to incur a lot of money due to the corporate liability (Naughton). This abusive behavior of excess web surfing usually continues until appropriate action is taken to discourage others in the workplace from engaging in it. Although they are conscious of what their employer may do to discipline such behavior the pattern of irresponsibility continues. Some employees use internet to undermine others, which can have very bad implications on the work environment (Duffy et al.). Performance of an individual at the workplace is affected by the interaction and interpersonal relationship (Baron). Social undermining is understood as an attitude that with the passage of time, declines an individual's ability to develop and sustain good relationships with others, good reputation and success. Social undermining may be intentional or unintentional, with the latter being more likely to occur at the social networking sites than the former. Colleagues might be embarrassed from being tagged in photos while it may not be originally intended by the tagger. Unintentional social undermining can have a serious impact on an employee’s relations with the peers at the workplace. Sexual harassment is another factor of internet negligence which creates a cause for concern in the work environment because certain employees decide it is ok to view inappropriate material on the internet with no regards to their fellow coworker. It typically leaves a feeling of tension and hostility in the work environment and discrimination claims. Frustrated employees at the workplace tend to pass racial and discriminatory statements, and sometimes even sexually abuse the co-workers (â€Å"Jackson Lewis† 3). Particularly, at workplaces, where men and women work together, some employees might want to see porn on their computer as a signal of sexual invitation to the employee of the opposite gender. Movies based on sexual harassment commonly discuss a scene wherein a male employee is explaining some work-related matter with the female employee and suddenly, a pornographic website pops up as intended by the male employee. Concluding, the internet is a great tool for companies to build better relationships with the consumer. It provides feedback on how to better serve the customer which initiates good reputation and self-growth for the company. However the internet can also be misused by a company's employee to compromise company privacy, work productivity and undermine a coworker. Works Cited: Baron R. A. â€Å"Interpersonal relations in organizations,† Individual differences. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 1996. pp. 334-370. Cox, Jeffrey T. and Rethman, Kelly M. â€Å"Setting expectations: social networking at work.† 2011. Web. 5 Apr. 2012. . Duffy, M.K., Ganster, D.C., and Pagon, M. â€Å"Social Undermining in the Workplace.† The Academy of Management Journal. Vol. 45, Apr. 2002, pp. 331-351. Griffiths, M. D. Internet gambling in the workplace. In M. Anandarajan C. Simmers (Eds.), Managing web usage in the workplace: A social, ethical and legal perspective (pp. 148-167). Hershey, PA: Idea Publishing. 2002. â€Å"Jackson Lewis: Serving the diverse needs of management.† 2010. Web. 5 Apr. 2012. . Naughten, K. â€Å"CyberSlacking in the workplace.† Newsweek. Vol. 1. pp. 62–65. 1999. Overly, M. E-policy: how to develop computer, email, and internet guidelines to protect your company and its assets. New York: American Management Association. 1999. Print.

Barclays Plc and Abn Amro Case Study Free Essays

string(59) " their financial accounts globally \(Barclays PLC, 2004\)\." [pic] London School of Commerce MBA E BARCLAYS PLC AND ABN AMRO CASE STUDY ASSIGNMENT London UK As one of the world’s leading banks, with 135,000 employees in more than 50 countries, Barclays plays a significant role, from working with governments on major infrastructure projects to bringing banking to customers in emerging markets. Barclays is made up of two major businesses: Global Retail and Commercial Banking (GRCB) and Investment Banking and Investment Management (IBIM). There strategy is to achieve growth through time by diversifying their profit base making their growth relevant to their customers at all times. We will write a custom essay sample on Barclays Plc and Abn Amro Case Study or any similar topic only for you Order Now This case study will seek to examine the bid and intended acquisition of ABN AMRO, and the early acquisition of Banco Zaragozano by Barclays, the differences in performance of these two banks based upon the strategic a economic motives, focusing on the merger acquisition, and strategy implemented to effect improvements to reflect the results from 2002- 2006. 1. Evaluate Barclays strategy over the period of the case and prior to the ABN bid, paying particular attention to the global industry drivers and the group? s performance from 2002-2006. In order to understand the context that helps to formulate the strategic performance changes at Barclays PLC over and prior bid for ABN AMOR. Barclay? s’ origins can be found back in 1690 to John Freame and Thomas Gould. The named changed to its present form when James Barclay became a partner in 1736. Presently, Barclays is the third largest bank in the United Kingdom. The institution’s primary focus is in retail banking, investment banking as well as investment management. Barclays operates in 60 countries with major point of interest in Europe, the United States, Asia, and Africa. Barclays is one of the ten largest banks global when measured by market capitalization (Barclays PLC, 2004). The institution’s core business revolves around retail and investment banking, and it is the later that is being impacted by forces acting upon liberal market economies in varied European Union member states as a result of the aforementioned introduction of the Euro as well as globalization. As a result of the preceding, Barclays services the United Kingdom market as well as providing services to multinational companies located in differing market models. Barclays strategy. The bank’s strategy is to offer a full portfolio of services worldwide, providing a wide range of cross-selling opportunities, in order to achieve good growth through time by diversifying its business base and increasing its presence in markets and segments that are growing rapidly. This is driven by the Group’s ambition to become one of a handful of universal banks leading the global financial services industry, helping customers and clients throughout the world achieve their goals. Moreover, the strategy of the bank is based on the principles of earn, invest and grow. Aligning business drivers with strategic options. The strategic options examined by Barclays were further direct investment or outsourcing to a ‘partner’ bank and these were considered in the context of the bank’s key business drivers. These were:improving their operating model for trade processing; reducing the costs of their trade business in relation to people, infrastructure and services; improving their trade service capabilities and establishing a workable, non-competing, long-term ‘partnership’. After considering all of the options, including a Joint Venture partnership, Barclays decided to outsource the processing aspect of its trade services offering to ABN AMRO and to focus on delivering enhanced client service. Performance Nowadays, the proliferation of banking consolidation within the industry is and has created a new era of international banking conglomerates in the global industry. The preceding is causing European based banks to appear small in terms of relative comparison. Barclays? peration in a liberal market economy means it competes with equity financing for corporations and as such, this does not represent a strength concerning its overall performance base. According to group? s performance from 2002-2006 identifies that Barclays? performance underpinnings are represented by its strategy of acquiring other banking (such as ABN Amro and Banco Zaragozano) concerns to expand its retail as well as other banking services through representation in international marke ts as represented by the bank’s presence in 60 countries. This provides Barclays with the means to sell its highly profitable investment banking services as well as be positioned to service the cadre of multinational companies that utilize its diverse banking financial service packages. On the other hand, ABN AMRO bank has a presence in 76 countries and territories. Using its worldwide network the bank provides universal banking services consisting of commercial and investment banking products to corporate nationally and internationally operating clients as well as personal and private banking customers. In 2007, Barclays announced the proposed acquisition of ABN AMRO bank, in order to expanded their distribution base. The deal was valued at â‚ ¬67 billion. On October, the RFS consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland, bidding for control of ABN AMRO, formally declared victory after shareholders, representing 86 percent of the Dutch bank’s shares, accepted the RFS group’s â‚ ¬70bn offer. Barclays is known a consistent performer delivering steady profitability results, 20% increase in profit before taxes in 2003, and again in 2004, and one of the lowest cost to income ratios with regard to banks in the UK. The preceding indicates that Barclays is well managed. Barclays? focus on internal administrative consolidation as well as the acquisition of banking concerns represents its recognition in order to maintain growth in revenues, return on equity, dividends and profits in response to maintaining a high market capitalization that tends to make it a relatively unattractive takeover target as a result of the high premium required to acquire it Barclays? retail banking arm is clearly supported by the huge success of its Barclaycard division that has set industry standards in terms of innovations in customer utility. Barclays? resence in 60 countries further strengthens the utility of this card providing business and retail customers with access to their financial accounts globally (Barclays PLC, 2004). You read "Barclays Plc and Abn Amro Case Study" in category "Essay examples" The aforementioned diversity in operations is a result of the economic strength of global industry market based ec onomies that have fully recovered from the global recession events of 2002. Barclays? banking acquisition strategy is a direct outgrowth of the foregoing in keeping with the consolidation mania initiated by U. S. based banks. According to ABN AMRO bank performance, financial results in 2006 added to concerns about the bank’s future. Operating expenses increased at a greater rate than operating revenue, and the efficiency ratio deteriorated further to 69. 9%. Non-performing loans increased considerably year on year by 192%. Net profits were only boosted by sustained asset sales. From 2002 to 2006, the further progress being made as a result of understanding the corrective measures that were and are needed to be taken. Barclays ? performance throughout this period has remained consistent and steady as the bank has not lost sight of the competencies that helped it achieve acceptable historical performance. . Compare and contrast the intended acquisition of ABN with that of the earlier acquisition of Banco Zaragozano, paying particular attention to the merger rationale and the motives in each case and the likely synergy gains resulting from the integration of ABN. According to the drivers of the bidding war that preceded the intended acquisition of ABN AMRO bank and the acquisition of Banco Zaragozano by Barclays in 2003, it is important to understand why merger and acquisition (M) take place and the potential gains of doing so. But first some definitions. Mergers and acquisitions. Mergers and acquisitions (M) are considered as consolidation strategies where a change of control takes place through a transfer of ownership. A merger is the combining of two or more companies into a single corporation. This is achieved when one company or business purchases the property or some other form of assets from another company. The result of this action is the formation of one corporate structure. This new corporate structure retains it is original identity. An acquisition is a little different from a merger n that it involves many problems being dissolved, and an entirely new company being formed. The main theory of merger and acquisition is synergy, that is, one and one makes three. Through synergy, managers create greater value with the integration of two companies, rather than that of their individual parts. Strategic and economic motives. The strategic of Barclays with the intended acquisition of ABN AMRO bank was to created a big opportunity with the purpose to deliver a new period of faster growth for shareholders in general. Moreover the intended investment would be implemented at a reasonable price slightly below the recent market trading price. The merger for Barclays was focused in a strong financial performance provides clear strategic advantages as well as stature on the world business state. The proposed merger with ABN AMRO, offered a unique opportunity to become a leading force in global retail and commercial banking with an stimate 47 millions customers, in order to increase financial returns to their owners beyond the rate of the stand-alone entities. And the fact that this merger, combining the strengths and values of both businesses, gives them confidence in delivery, both in terms of synergies, and determined in considerable detail by ABN AMRO bank and Barclays, in terms of a clearly defined and transparent management structure that we are putting in place. In terms of growth for shareholders, the combined entity would offers a diversified portfolio, both by geography and by business. Exposure to high-growth developing markets represents about a quarter of the enlarged pro forma profit base. Business segments such as investment banking and investment management, which have as we know strong growth opportunities driven by demographic trendS represent about half of profits For Global Retail and Commercial Banking, the merger would create the fourth largest retail and commercial bank worldwide by market share, and in a world where the needs and buying behaviours of retail and commercial customers are growing more similar, this will create economies of scale. Furthermore, the benefits generate by the merger between both banks would be: complementary networks, a strong presence in attractive European markets; significantly enhanced positions in high-growth developing markets; a much larger distribution network; and the opportunity to deliver considerable economies of scale. The main reason behind Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), has trumped Barclays? offer for ABN Amro. The for each ABN AMRO share, 79 per cent of which will be in cash, with the remainder in RBS shares. The cash element was higher than expected and the bid, valuing ABN at E71bn (? 8bn), beats Barclays? agreed all-share offer, worth E64. 5bn. The deal offers better value for ABN AMRO bank shareholders. And price is not the only factor, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) also combined cost savings would reach E4. 23bn by the end of 2010, easily beating Barclays? estimated savings of around E2. 8bn. In essence the driving force behind the success of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) bid over Barclays was in fact the higher share price expectations offering the perfect icing. That partly reflects the radically difierent strategic visions of the two banks. Barclays is looking to build a huge universal bank where cross-border synergies could be limited. But the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) consortium wants to generate a type of â€Å"in-market synergies†, by breaking-up ABN AMRO. On the other hand, in 2003, Barclays announces the completion of its acquisition of Banco Zaragozano, at a cost of ? 788 million which fit nicely into Barclays’ strategy to grow its business in Europe. Barclays has been present in the Spanish market for 25 years and it the most profitable foreign-owned bank in the country. The acquisition of Banco Zaragozano to its arsenal makes Barclays the sixth largest private bank in Spain (much of the market is dominated by publicly-owned banks) and triples Barclays customer base and branch network. Barclays aimed to be one of the top five banks in the world and for that it would consider acquisition to achieve the goal. Further, Barclays believes that a physical retail and commercial banking presence is a significant enabler of investment banking growth. The acquisition of Banco Zaragozano, shows that strong retail presence generates ood new business opportunities for global businesses such as investment banking and credit cards. The success or failure of a deal also depends on the time horizon over which evaluation is done. Normally, in the short term, stock reactions to merger announcements tend to raise the target’s stock price, while the stock of the acquirer stays about the same. This is normally attributable to the expectation that there will be a bi d that is successful and involves a premium above the current market price of the stock. Acquirer prices stay the same, in general, as the market reacts conservatively, depending on the specifics of the deal. 3. Identify what you believe to the key success factors necessary to sustain competitive adavantage in the global financial services industry and briefly discuss the implications for the firm? s competencies, structure, and ehical/corporate governance. Critical success factors (CSFs) have been used significantly to present or identify a few key factors that organisations should focus on to be successful. As a definition, Critical success factors refer to â€Å"the limited number of areas in which satisfactory results will ensure successful competitive performance for the individual, department, or organisation† (Rockart and Bullen, 1981). Identifying CSFs is important as it allows firms to focus their efforts on building their capabilities to meet the CSFs, or even allow firms to decide if they have the capability to build the requirements necessary to meet Critical success factors (CSFs). The main keys success factors for Barclays in the case study are, with over three hundred years of history and expertise in banking Barclays has seen and has gained a reputation for being a trustworthy and a reliable institution to bank and invest with. This reputation has seen it grow into over 50 countries and become truly universal bank providing loans, investments and protecting the money of over 42 million customers and client worldwide. Another reason for the success of Barclays would be that it follows a simple strategic premise; ‘anticipates the needs of customers and clients and serve them by helping them achieve their goals. Part of Barclays recent success has been their ability to target and identify upcoming emerging markets for example: India, parts of Asia and Africa, namely South Africa, expanding its retail network and cash machine availability. Despite being a truly global corporation from a basic bank account to funding Governmental projects, Barclays focus ha s always been to meet the needs of the individual customer. Furthermore, competitive advantages are difficult to create. It is even more difficult to sustain. Community banks usually can not achieve a cost advantages, especially in head-to-head competition with larger, high-volume institutions. That leaves differentiation as their primary method for creating Competitive advantages. But that approach is also problematic. It is clear that technology is playing a bigger and bigger role in banking. But today most banks are using functionally identical systems to develop and deliver products and services. This uniformity of technology has resulted in commoditized banking – the antithesis of differentiation. So while emerging technology can create a temporary advantage, sustainable differentiation based solely on technology is virtually impossible. To make matters worse, technology has actually eliminated some of the historical advantages enjoyed by community banks. Thanks to CRM, personalized service – once the sole province of community banks – is now possible for even the largest institutions. Sustainable Competitive advantages is created by leveraging organization’s unique blend of attributes – brand equity, reputation, geographic footprint, specialized knowledge – and articulating it clearly and consistently to your market. Barclays is an excellent example of a bank that has achieved Competitive advantages through specialized knowledge. On the other hand, on the global financial services industry corporate governance is essential to the wellbeing of an individual company and its stakeholders, particularly its shareholders and creditors. But sound corporate governance is not just a vital factor at the level of the individual corporation. It is also a critical ingredient in maintaining a sound financial system and a robust economy. And that is why governments have taken such an interest in recent examples of corporate governance failures. It is also why banking supervisors are placing greater emphasis on the role that corporate governance can play in promoting financial stability. In the financial system, corporate governance is one of the key factors that determine the health of the system and its ability to survive economic shocks. The health of the financial system much depends on the underlying soundness of its individual components and the connections between them – such as the banks, the non-bank financial institutions and the payment systems. In turn, their soundness largely depends on their capacity to identify, measure, monitor and control their risks. Barclays have designed good corporate governance policies and practices in order to ensure that they are focused on their responsibilities to shareholders and on creating long term shareholder value, and ensuring that behaviour is ethical, legal and transparent. In firms, structure is basically the best way to organize it, in order to accomplish it is objectives. It acts as the medium that facilitates the accomplishments of the organizational goals. It also helps to identify the key activities of the organizational processes and how they are coordinated. Moreover, successful strategy implementation depends to a large extent on the firm’s primary organizational structure. A primary organizational structure comprises the firm’s major elements, components, or differentiated units. Other means of getting organized are through reward systems, coordination terms, planning procedures, alliances, information, and budgetary systems. Geographical structure It is common in firms that have grown by expanding the sale of their products of services to new geographical areas. In these areas, they frequently encounter differences that necessitate different approaches in producing, providing or selling services or products. The key strategic advantage of this structure is responsiveness to local market conditions, a clear example of that is the intended acquisition of ABN AMRO and the early acquisition of Banco Zaragozano. To conclude, after being satisfied with its progress in the United Kingdom, Barclays decided to make its name international by going abroad which was another great move. In the United Kingdom, Barclays had acquired many other small banks, such a Banco Zaragozano, gained large market and profits with each acquisition. As a result of this growth, this company had reached its maturity stage within UK itself; it has reached its peak of growth. Further, Barclays, performance throughout 2002-2006 has remained consistent and steady as the bank has not lost sight of the competencies that helped it achieve acceptable historical performance. Bibliography †¢ Barclays PLC. 2004. Annual Report. Barclays PLC, London, United Kingdom. †¢ Calmfors, Lars, Driffil, John. 1988. Centralisation of Wage Bargaining. Vol. 6. Economic Policy Dammann, N. 2008. The Bidder Competition for ABN AMRO: A Strategic Analysis and Implications †¦Bachelor tesis. †¢ Esping-Anderrsen, Gosta. 1990. Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, United States. †¢ Foster, S. Reed A. , Nesvold P. 1999. The art of M A: a merger, acquisition, buyout guide. Fourth edition. †¢ Friedman, Thomas. 1999. The Lexus and the Olive Tree. P 105. Anchor Books, New York, New York, United States †¢ Hall, Peter, Soskice, David. 2001. Varieties of Capitalism: The Insitutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage. Oxford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom. Ireland, D. , Hoskisson, R. , Hitt, M. 2008 Understanding Business Strategy: Concepts and Cases. Second edition †¢ Monks, R. , Minow N. 2008. Corporate Governance. Fourth edition †¢ Rockart, J. Bullen, C. , 1981. A primer on critical success factors. Center for Information Systems Research Working Paper No 69. Sloan School of Management, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts. †¢ Tibergien, M. Pomering. 2005. R. Practice made perfect: the discipline of business management for financial. Bloomberg. 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Question: How can self-schemata help prepare you for the rigors and high expectations of being a doctoral learner? Explain. Answer: A need for improved rigor within the learning circumstances and consequences is considered as an important statement. Educators aim to give confidence towards deeper understanding and thoughts among the students with a bigger emphasis on analysis and persuasion. Complete participation in discussion is said to be an important element of doctoral learning. It augments group interaction and increases doctoral learning background. High standard expectations are considered as popular aim in education (DEY NEOGI, 2012). A clear association is present between engagement and motivation and learners respond more confidently to high standard anticipations when they give importance to their ongoing performances. The initial stage should include clear definition of rigor and illustrate the way the rigor elements affect learner in high standard learning culture (Rutherford, 2012). The subsequent step should include development of ways to apply rigor to distinguish instruction by bringing out responses and widening learners autonomy and accountability for constant learning. As it is already mentioned that high standard expectations are considered as popular aim in education, it is suggested that the educators should recognize that the expectations are relevant and realistic (Tanner, 2013). Relevant education is considered as transdisciplinary and unites the interests of the students and real world understandings, through current issues, authentic problems, service learning, simulations and educating others (Paige, Sizemore Neace, 2013). Rigor with no relevance can give rise to students who academically perform well but look as if dysfunctional within the real world. Ultimately students must determine the exact thing that is appropriate to them and teachers should facilitate learners making the associations to precise skills or content. References DEY, A., NEOGI, D. (2012). A Study on Organizational Characteristics of Self Help Groups in India: How do they contribute in Social Support Psychological Well-being of Rural Poor.Global Journal For Research Analysis,3(7), 259-263. doi:10.15373/22778160/july2014/93 Paige, D., Sizemore, J., Neace, W. (2013). Working Inside the Box: Exploring the Relationship Between Student Engagement and Cognitive Rigor.NASSP Bulletin,97(2), 105-123. doi:10.1177/0192636512473505 Rutherford, P. (2012).Active learning and engagement strategies. Alexandria, VA: Just ASK Publications. Tanner, K. (2013). Structure Matters: Twenty-One Teaching Strategies to Promote Student Engagement and Cultivate Classroom Equity.Cell Biology Education,12(3), 322-331. doi:10.1187/cbe.13-06-0115