The Stages of Development That Led to the Final Form of the Five Books of the Pentateuch Essay Example for Free

The Stages of Development That Led to the Final Form of the Five Books of the Pentateuch Essay The ‘Documentary Hypothesis’ states that the Pentateuch is a series of parallel narrative documents that have been composed and edited together by various people over different centuries in time. Some scholars believe that the composition of the Pentateuch was complex with numerous changes and later additions. The stages of development that led to the final form of the five books of the Pentateuch , i. e. the oral, written and editing stages, was interpreted by various people over a period of centuries. Prior to any written documentation, it is assumed that stories and traditions would have been retold orally. Even during the time from Abraham onwards (1750 B. C. E) when writing was in existence, it was only used by professionals in the service of rulers and temples, as the majority of the population could not read or write. This meant the stories of the Hebrews were still relayed orally through stories, poems and songs. This gave rise to embellishment and certain inaccuracies as the stories passed from one person to another and between generations. Many of the stories were told as a means of entertainment to larger gatherings and by parents to children. Over a long period of time these oral stories or traditions were brought together as collections and, in time, became the source for written material. The Pentateuch was probably contributed to by four sources commencing in the latter half of the tenth century B. C. E. They were the Yahwistic source (J), in the ninth century Elohistic source (E), the seventh century B.  C. E Deuteronomist source (D), and the Priestly source (P) in the late sixth century B. C. E. As is evident, bringing the oral traditions into a written form was a complex and lengthy process spanning several centuries and calling upon different traditions, stories, narratives and laws, each with their own particular perspectives. Nevertheless, they did eventually all come together to form the Pentateuch which would have been edited by redactors in several stages over time. Given the lengthy process in reducing the oral traditions to written form, it is clear that there were various versions of stories which underwent continued augmentation or shortening. The process was therefore far from scientific thus giving rise to a significant amount of poetic license on the part of the editor. This led to inconsistencies and contradictions. It was indeed not until the Hebrew Bible was canonised in the first century A. D that a select version of each book was formally adopted and standardised.

Capital market of india vs usa

Capital market of india vs usa INDIAN FINANCIAL SYSTEM: MONEY AND CAPITAL MARKET IN INDIA:- A money market is not a market for money but it is a market for near money; or it is the market for lending and borrowing of short-term funds. It is the market where the short-term surplus investible funds of banks other financial institutions are demanded by borrowers comprising individual companies and government. Commercial banks are both suppliers of funds in the money market and borrowers. The Indian money market consists of two parts: the unorganized and the organized sectors. The unorganized sector consists of indigenous bankers who pursue the banking business on traditional lines and non-banking financial institutions(NBFCs) .the organized sector comprises the reserve bank, the state bank of India and its associates banks, both Indian and foreign. The organized money market in India has a number of sub markets such as the treasury bills market, the commercial bills market and the inter-bank call money market. The Indian money market is not a single homogenous market but is composed of several sub-markets, each one of which deals in a particular type of short term credit. CALL MONEY MARKET: The market is also known as money at call and short notice. The market has actually two segments viz. (a) the call market or overnight market, and (b) short notice market. The rate at which funds are borrowed and lent in this market is call money rate. Call money rates are market determined i.e. by demand for and supply of short term funds. The public sector banks for about 75 percent for the demand (that is, borrowings) and foreign banks and Indian private sector banks accounts for the balance for the balance of 20 percent of borrowings. Non-banking financial Institutions such as IDBI, LIC, GIC, etc enter the call money market as lenders and supply up to 80 percent of the short-term funds. The balance of 20 percent of the funds is supplied by the banking system .while some banks operates both as lenders and borrowers, others are eithers only borrowers or only borrowers or only lenders in the call money market. Bill Market in India: The bill market or the discount market is the most important part of the money market where short-term bills-normally up to 90 days-are brought sold. The bill market is further subdivided into commercial bill market and Treasury bill market. The market for commercial bills has not become popular in India. Unlike in London other international money markets where commercial bills are extensively bought and sold (i.e. discounted). The 91 days treasury bills are the most common way the government of India raises funds for the short period. Some years ago, the government had introduced the 182 day treasury bills which were later converted into 364-day treasury bills; the government introduced the 14-day intermediate treasury bills. Features defects of Indian money market: Existence of unorganized money market Absence of integration Diversity in money rates of interest Seasonal stringency of money Absence of the bill market Highly volatile call money market Absence of a well organized banking system Availability of credit instrument. Composition of Indian capital market: Capital market is the market for long term funds, just as the money market is the market for short term funds. It refers to all the facilities and the institutional arrangements for borrowing and lending term funds (medium-term and long-term funds).it does not deal in capital goods but is concerned with the raising of money capital for purposes of investment. The demand for long-term memory capital comes predominantly from private sector manufacturing industries and agriculture and from the government largely for the purpose of economic development. As the central and state governments are investing not only on economic overheads like transport, irrigation and power development but also on basic industries and sometimes even in consumer goods industries, they require substantial sums from the capital market. The supply of funds for the capital market comes largely from individual savers, corporate savings, banks, insurance companies specialized financing agencies and the government. Among the institutions, we may refer to the following: Commercial banks are important investors, but are largely interested in govt. securities and, to a small extent, debentures of companies; LIC and GIC are of growing importance in the Indian capital market, though their major interest is in government securities; Provident funds constitute a major medium of savings but their investment too are mostly in govt. securities; and Special institutions set up since independence , viz, IFCI, ICICI, IDBI, UTI, etc. -generally called development financial institutions (DFIs) -aim at supplying long term capital to the private sector. There are financial intermediaries in the capital market, such as merchant bankers, mutual funds leasing companies etc. which help in mobilizing savings and supplying funds to investors. Like all markets, the capital market is also composed of those who demand funds (borrowers) and those who supply funds (lenders).an ideal capital attempts to provide adequate capital at reasonable rate of return for any business which offers a prospective yield high enough to make borrowing worthwhile. The capital market is broadly divided into two the gilt-edged market and the industrial securities market. The gilt-edged market refers to the market for government and semi govt. securities, backed by the RBI. The securities traded in this market are stable in value and are much sought after by banks and other institutions. The industrial securities market refers to the market for shares and debentures of old and new companies. This market is further divided into the new issue market and old capital market meaning the stock exchange. The new issue market -often referred to as primary market- refers to raising of new capital in the form of shares and debentures whereas the old issue market -commonly known as stock exchange or stock market-deals with securities already issued by the companies. It is also known as the secondary market. Both markets are equally important, but often the issue market IS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT from the point of view of economic growth. DFIs supply funds for investment: financial intermediaries like merchant bankers help the corporate sector to raise funds in the capital market. SPECIAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS THE CAPITAL MARKET: Soon after independence, the govt. of India set up a series of financial institutions to be of special help to the private sector industries. IFCI was the first of these institutions (1948).it was followed by SFCs (set up by state govt. with cooperation of RBI other banks) to provide long term finance to small and medium industries. ICICI (1955), IDBI (1964) UTI (1964) followed soon after.LIC was set up in 1956 to mobilize individual savings and to invest part of savings in the capital market. Commercial banks the capital market: The operations of commercial banks have so far been confined to the purchase and sell of govt. and other trust securities. Their holdings of industrial securities viz. shares and debentures are very small. But in recent years, banks have been increasingly participating in term through subscribing to the shares debentures of special financial institutions. They are also setting up financial subsidiaries, known as merchant houses, mutual funds, venture capital companies, leasing companies, etc. to mobilize funds. Non banking financial companies (NBFCs): In recent years ,NBFCs, variously called as finance corporation loan company, finance company etc. have mushroomed all over the country. These companies, with a very little capital of their own have been raising deposits from the public by offering attractive rate of interest other incentives. They advance loans to wholesale and retail traders, small scale industries and self- employed person. Bulk of their loans is given to parties which dont either approach commercial banks or which are denied credit facilities. The finance companies give loans which are generally unsecured. Besides giving loans and advances to small sector, they run chit funds, purchase and discount hundies and have also taken up merchant banking, mutual funds, leasing etc. Essentially, these finance cos. are banks, since they perform the basic twin functions of attracting deposits from the public and making loans.RBI say The rapid growth of NBFCs especially in the nineties, has led to a gradual blurring of dividing lines between banks and NBFCs. Since NBFC are not regarded as banking companies they didnt come under the control of RBI. There is no minimum liquidity ratio or cash ratio between their own funds and deposits. The RBI has mentioned 5 kinds of NBFCs Leasing Financing Companies Hire purchase finance companies Loan finance companies Investment finance companies Residuary non-banking companies (RNBCs) Future of NBCs: The NBFCs are now emerging as a growing segment of the Indian financial system both the government and RBI appreciate the need for their orderly and healthy development with appropriate prudential safeguards. It is to regulate NBFCs and to improve their financial health that amendment to RBI act, 1934 was carried out. Mutual Funds: In recent years, mutual funds are the most important among newer capital market institutions. Several public sector banks and financial institutions have set up mutual funds on a tax-exempt basis. Their main function is to mobilize the savings of general people invest them in stock market securities. Growth of mutual fund: In the 1990s.MFs found it hard to attract investors, the competition for funds was hotting up from banks and the government was offering 14% interest on medium term securities, banks-12%, HDFC-14%, IDBI-15.75%. Under these conditions, it was difficult for mutual funds to rival such high yields on debt instruments. They also found it hard to meet high expectations of investors who were yet to break out of the get-rich-quick syndrome. Accordingly, the first wave of mutual funds failed. During 1998-99 and 1999-00, however the mutual fund sector registered significant growth. Economic conditions were good; stock exchanges were booming and the govt. had given tax concessions. All these help in the return of faith of people in mutual funds. The revival of mutual funds since 1995-96 was due to the entry of corporate majors-TATA, BIRLA, RELIANCE SBI. Many other followed with products designed for investor specific need. Investors left the banking system and flocked to mutual fund. STOCK EXCHANGE IN INDIA: In a modern capitalist economy, almost all commodities are produced on a large scale; and large scale production means large scale of capital. The public firms issues stocks and bonds and enable those with surplus funds to invest them profitability in them. The stock market is a place where stocks and shares other long term commitments or investments are bought and sold. History of Stock Exchange in India: The first organized stock exchange in India was started in Bombay when the Native Share Stock Brokers Association known as Bombay stock exchange (BSE) was formed by the brokers in Bombay.BSE was Asias oldest stock exchange. In 1894 Ahmadabad stock exchange was started to deal in the shares of textile miles there the Calcutta stock exchange was started in 1908 to deal in shares of plantation and jute miles besides these there were a number of unorganized and unrecognized exchanges known as KERB markets. There were also illegal DABBA markets in which stock and shares also bought and sold SEBI: The functioning of stock exchanges in India has shown many weaknesses, lack of transparency. to counter these problems and regulate capital market the government of India set up the SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA in 1988.SEBI was a non statutory body but in January 1992 it was made a statutory body. SEBI , in consultation with govt. of India has taken a lot of steps to introduce improved practices and greater transparency for the interest of the investing public and healthy development of capital markets SEBI has advised stock exchanges to amend the listing agreements to ensure the listed companies furnishes annual statements to the stock exchanges All the guidelines and regulatory measures of capital issues are meant to promote healthy and efficient functioning of the issue market In January 1995 the government amended SEBI ACT 1992, so as to arm SEBI with additional powers for ensuring the orderly development of capital market and to enhance its ability to protect the interest of investors. It was thought that SEBI has all necessary powers to control the capital market on one hand and effectively protect interest of the shareholders on the other. But it has failed miserably to prevent a small by scams like HARSHAD MEHTA scam. Capital Market of USA: USA has a very strong and developed capital market. Many other countries such as Germany have a very powerful and firm banking sector but the capital market of Germany is not so strong. There is a very agile financial market that is present in USA and is playing very important part in making and implementing the policies of the government. If agile market in financial instrument were not present, the govt. will not be able to open market operations. The capital market covers a big range of tools for borrowing and lending. The borrowers are businesses houses, retail investors, and government Institutes which have needs for funding. Lenders are businesses and Individuals with savings or excess money to invest. Financial institutions viz. commercial banks, investment Firms, and insurance companies, act as both borrowers and lenders. In addition, a wide variety of financial instruments have been developed that permit borrowers to sell their own securities and their own securities and ear n interest and profits. The market in which the maturities and trading are for a short period is called a money market; the money market is a market for short-term credit. The money market helps the players to deal with routine financial uncertainties. Borrowers trade it for mollify or Short-term cash. Markets that deal in instruments with maturities more than one year are known as capital markets, since credit for investments for new venture will be required for more than one year. There is a difference between primary and secondary market. The primary market applies to the original issuing of a credit market instrument. After a debt instrument has been issued, the purchaser may be able to resell the instrument before its maturity in a secondary market. These include different types of formal exchanges, and electronic trading through bids and offers. NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE: The New York stock exchange is the largest stock exchange in the world. It is operated by NYSE Euro next (it is the company that is formed by all the companies listed in the NYSE that came into existence in April 2007).the CEO of the company is Duncan L. Niederauer . Its origin started on may 1792, when 24 stock brokers signed the Buttonwood agreement. It was renamed NEWYORK STOCK AND EXCHANE BOARD on March 1817.The first president was Anthony Stockholm. Its composite index was created with a base value of 50 points and base year as 1965.after a gap of 38 years the base value was 5000 points and the base year was 2005. The list of stock exchanges of USA are given below: New York Stock Exchange NASDAQ Philadelphia Boston Stock Exchange National Stock Exchange American Stock Exchange Chicago Stock Exchange New York Board of Trade NYSE Arca U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: It is an organization of USA government which regulates all the stock exchanges mentioned above. The primary responsibility of this commission is to enforce all the securities laws of investors and industries. It was created by SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT; 1934.This act is also called FEDRAL SECURITIES ACT. The main motive of the commission is to increase public faith in the capital markets by disclosure of information about public securities offerings. This commission divided in several offices. They are: The Office of General Counsel The Office of the Chief Accountant The Office of Compliance, Inspections and Examinations The Office of International Affairs PESTEL ANALYSIS OF CAPITAL MARKET OF INDIA: POLITICAL: THE capital market of India is very vulnerable. India has been politically instable in the past but it is a little politically stable now-a-days.the political instability of the country has a very strong impact on the capital market. The share market of India changes as the political changes took place. The sensex goes up and down with any kind of small and big political news, like, if there is news that a particular political party has withdrawn its support from the ruling party, and then the capital market will go down with a bang. The capital market of India is too weak and is based on speculations. The political stability of the country is very important for the stability and growth of capital market in India. The political imbalance or balance of the country is the major factor in deciding the capital market of India. The political factors include: employment laws tax policy trade restrictions and tariffs political stability ECONOMICAL: THE economical measures taken by the government of India has a very strong relationship with the capital market. Whenever the annual budget is announced the capital market goes up and down with the economical policies of the government .If the policies are supportive to the companies then the capital market takes it positively and if there is any other policy that is not supportive and it is not welcomed then the capital market goes down. Like, in the case of allocation of 3-G spectrum, those companies that got the license for 3-G, they witnessed sharp growth in their share values so the economic policies play a major part in the growth and decline of the capital market and again if there is relaxation on any kind of taxes on items of automobile industry then the share of automobile sector goes up and virtually strengthen the capital market .The economical factors include: inflation rate economic growth exchange rates interest rates SOCIAL: India is a country of unity in diversity .India is socially rich but the capital market is not very attached with the social factors .Yes, there is some relation between the social factors with the capital market. If there is any big social factor then to some extent it affects the capital market but small social factors dont impact at all. Like, there was opposition of reliance fresh in many cities and many stores were closed. The share prices of the reliance fresh went down but the impact was on and individual firm there was not much impact on the capital market on a whole the social factors have not much of impact on the capital market in India. The social factors include: emphasis on safety career attitudes population growth rate age distribution health consciousness TECHNOLOGICAL: The technological factors have not that much effect on the capital market. India is technological backward country. Same as social factors, technological factor can have an effect on an individual form but it cannot have a big impact on a whole of capital market. The Bajaj got a patent on its dts-i technology, and launched it in its new bike but it does not effect on capital market. The technological change in India is always on a lower basis and it doesnt effect on country as a whole. The technological factors include: RD activity technology incentives rate of technological change automation Environmental factors: Initially The environmental factors dont play a vital role in the capital market. But the time has changed and people are more eco-friendly. This is really bothering them that if any firm or industry is environment friendly or not. An increasing number of people, investors, corporate executives are paying importance to these facts, the capital markets still see the environment as a liability. They belie that it is of no use for their strategy. The environmental performance is even under-valued by the markets. Legal factors: Legal factors play an important role in the development and sustain the capital market. Legal issues relating to any industry or firm decides the fate of the capital market. If the govt. of India or the parliament introduces a new law that can affect the running of the industry then the industry will be demotivated and this demotivation will lead to the demotivation of the investors and will result in the fall of capital market. Like after the Harshat Mehta scam, new rules and regulations were introduced like PAN card was made necessary for trading, if any investor was investing too much money in a small firm, then the investors were questioned,etc. These regulations were meant to maintain transparency in the capital market, but at that time, investment was discouraged. Legal factors are necessary for the improvement and stability of the capital market. PESTEL Analysis Of The capital market of USA: Political factors: The political state of USA is very stable as compared to the India and trading there is done not on speculations but on hard and proven facts. They dont invest on feelings as we Indian investors do. It is a well known fact that the political factors play an important role in the capital market, but in USA due to its strong democracy and almost 100% employment the capital market. The investors there dont mix emotions with their professions so even if there is some kind of political disturbance that doesnt show much impact on the capital market there. ECONOMICAL: The economical factors of any country are very important for the capital market of that country and USA is no exception. For example: the great depression of 1931.the USA stock market crash on October 29,1929.it is also known as BLACK TUESDAY. This crash led to hugh loss for investors and the capital market was on its knees. Thus the economical factors are a very important and unavoidable factor .it will be suicidal to overlook the various economical factors like inflation, GDP, income tax structure etc. SOCIAL: Social factors almost dont affect the capital market in the USA. Because, the country is very rigid in its social roots. They are very less emotionally attached to each other especially in terms of business. The investors are least bothered about the social issues that prevail in their surroundings. Their social system is of that kind that it is too difficult to disturb the capital market there. Their social pattern is very much developed. Factors like emphasis on safety, health consciousness, career attitudes, population growth rate, age distribution etc. doesnt affect them at all. Technological factors: USA is a technologically developed country and the companies spend lot of money on the R D of any product.they dont bother about the cost incurring on it.and the investors there are very active

Chat language

Chat language Chat Language Chat Language is a recent concept which is characterized by overwhelming acceptance. Chat language can be justly described as the result of the worldwide impact of Internet and Cosmopolitan culture. Chat Language refers to the whole range of abbreviations and smileys which have become an integral part of the process of chatting. Usefulness of Chat Language The usefulness of chat language is well illustrated by the overwhelming acceptance of the language. In fact, chat language is one of the most commonly used medium of communication amongst the youngsters. Chat Language is most prevalently used by the people living in big cities where the impact of Internet is more profound. Chat Language has simplified and speeded up the process of transmitting messages. You can make use of this short and sweet chat language to aptly communicate your thoughts and feelings to your dear ones. In fact, a smiley also enhances the look of the messages, thereby, expressing your feelings properly. Chat Language proves to be less time consuming. Knowledge of Chat Language In order to make use of the chat language efficiently, you need to learn the short forms and smileys properly. In order to expand the scope of your knowledge about Chat Language, you can make use of the handy and easily understandable Chat Dictionary. A Chat Dictionary provides with an entire list of abbreviations that are used in chat and are easy to remember. In chat language, the spelling of a normal word is shortened. For example, AFK stands for Away From Keyboard while FYI means For Your Information. Below is a list of some of the most commonly used short forms and smileys: ASAP As Soon As Possible BBL Be Back Later FWIW For What Its Worth GTSY Glad To See You IC =Â » I See IRL =Â » In Real Life LY =Â » Love Ya TNT =Â » Till Next Time o:-) =Â » Angelic >:-( =Â » Angry |-I =Â » Asleep : =Â » Crying :-) =Â » Crying with Joy :-( =Â » Crying Sadly :-9 =Â » Delicious, Yummy

Plot Overview of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller :: Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller Essays

Plot Overview of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller As a flute melody plays, Willy Loman returns to his home in Brooklyn one night, exhausted from a failed sales trip. His wife, Linda, tries to persuade him to ask his boss, Howard Wagner, to let him work in New York so that he won't have to travel. Willy says that he will talk to Howard the next day. Willy complains that Biff, his older son who has come back home to visit, has yet to make something of himself. Linda scolds Willy for being so critical, and Willy goes to the kitchen for a snack. As Willy talks to himself in the kitchen, Biff and his younger brother, Happy, who is also visiting, reminisce about their adolescence and discuss their father's babbling, which often includes criticism of Biff's failure to live up to Willy's expectations. As Biff and Happy, dissatisfied with their lives, fantasize about buying a ranch out West, Willy becomes immersed in a daydream. He praises his sons, now younger, who are washing his car. The young Biff, a high school football star, and the young Happy appear. They interact affectionately with their father, who has just returned from a business trip. Willy confides in Biff and Happy that he is going to open his own business one day, bigger than that owned by his neighbor, Charley. Charley's son, Bernard, enters looking for Biff, who must study for math class in order to avoid failing. Willy points out to his sons that although Bernard is smart, he is not "well liked," which will hurt him in the long run. A younger Linda enters, and the boys leave to do some chores. Willy boasts of a phenomenally successful sales trip, but Linda coaxes him into revealing that his trip was actually only meagerly successful. Willy complains that he soon won't be able to make all of the payments on their appliances and car. He complains that people don't like him and that he's not good at his job. As Linda consoles him, he hears the laughter of his mistress. He approaches The Woman, who is still laughing, and engages in another reminiscent daydream. Willy and The Woman flirt, and she thanks him for giving him stockings. The Woman disappears, and Willy fades back into his prior daydream, in the kitchen. Linda, now mending stockings, reassures him. He scolds her mending and orders her to throw the stockings out.

Narrative Techniques in Faulkner’s The Unvanquished and Barn Burning Es

Narrative Techniques in Faulkner’s The Unvanquished and Barn Burning The Unvanquished is composed of a series of stories during which Bayard Sartoris, the narrator, grows up from a twelve-year-old boy to a young man of twenty-four years. The narrative style makes it obvious that events are being related by an adult who is looking back at his past. There are several indications of this: in the very first story â€Å"Ambuscade†, the narrator, while describing his war games with his coloured friend, Ringo, states: â€Å"We were just twelve then†. (5) He tells the readers how they fantasized about the military exploits of John Sartoris, Bayard’s father, seeing them as heroic and exciting adventures. The narrator describes himself and Ringo at this stage of the novel as â€Å"the two supreme undefeated like two moths, two feathers riding above a hurricane† (7), drawing attention to the fact that while the two boys are positioned in the midst of war with all its attendant destruction and insanity, they have no understanding of it s horror. When his father first appears on the scene, the Bayard says: â€Å"He was not big, it was just the things he did†¦ that made him seem big to us† (9). Swept up in the romance of war, with the dust of battle clinging to him, John Sartoris seems to assume a larger than life persona but even as the narrator delineates his father before us, he attaches a caveat that in actuality, the Colonel was different from how he saw him as a young boy. This statement presages the mature understanding of his father’s character that Bayard develops as the novel progresses. In â€Å"The Odor of Verbena†, he has reached such clarity of vision that he can say without much difficulty that his father was a difficult man to get along with, he ac... ...an adult, his articulation of this southern code of morality is coherent and well thought out while Sarty’s reaction to his father’s incendiary behaviour is instinctive and not intellectualized. The image of the violent Southern man is evident in both stories, both boys have fathers who have participated in violence-Abner Snopes has a seething rage which finds satisfaction only through burning the property of people he hates and John Sartoris has been directly involved in the war, has a belligerent disposition and resorts to bloodshed frequently in the novel. But the difference lies in the ultimate response of the central character of each story to the southern ideals of masculinity - Bayard initially abides by but ultimately distances himself from Southern codes of honour while Sarty, being a child, is still far from finding himself at the end of â€Å"Barn Burning†.

Mercantilism vs. Laissez-faire Essay

Mercantilism suggested that a country’s goverment should play an active role in the economy by urging more exports than imports, especially through the use of tariffs. A nations wealth, when it comes to mercantilism lays in its gold and silver amounts. Many physiocrats of the time opposed mercantilism because they saw it as exploition of business. The government collected substantial fees from guilds, and other groups. Therefore using them for their own profit. The government also restricted economic innovation, and regulated which goods would be made and what regions are to be traded with. This brought out many critics in the aristocratic classes. One of mercantilisms greatest critics was Adam Smith. Adam Smith wrote: † The man who buys, does not always mean to sell again, but frequently to use or to consume; whereas he who sells, always means to buy again.† (Adam Smith, An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations) This basically means that in order to sell, you must regain what you’ve sold, and will sell again, but those who buy will use what they’ve bought. Adam Smith had â€Å"laissez-faire† ideology which meant that an individuals self-interest is the motor of economic progress. He believed each individual should be free to pursue their economic interests freely, without restriction by the government, which he believed should not concern itself with economic affairs. High tariffs, guild restrictions, and mercantilist restraints just obstructed economic activity. Physiocrats who advocated Laissez-faire ideology also believed that agriculture is the sole productive economic activity and encouraged the improvement of cultivation. Because they considered land to be the sole source of wealth, they urged the adoption of a tax on land as the only economically justifiable tax. So essentially â€Å"Laissez-faire† and mercantilist are completely opposite in the sense that mercantilism is for the government, for restriction and monarchial control, and Laissez-faire is for the individual, the consumer, the masses, the good of the country.

Contemporary management functions Essay

Contemporary management functions reflect considerations of past management theories and aim to improve and strengthen employer-employee relationships as well as providing suitable working conditions for employees. Management functions are functions which managers perform to â€Å"effectively and efficiently coordinate the work of others. (Robbins, 2012). The functions consist of planning, organising, leading and controlling. The theories discussed in the article (1981) Hawthorne, the Myth of the Docile Worker, and Class Bias in Psychology, American Psychologist, 36(8) pp. 867-878. By Bramel, D, an article written about the Hawthorne Research conducted between 1924-1933, which looked to identify the relation between various working conditions and productivity and output, highlight the need for contemporary management functions. The article addresses how integral a continuous strong and communicative relationship is between the employer and employees of a business and the necessity of a strong and ethical organizational culture. Poor executions of the leading management function can reduce trust between employers and employees and create job dissatisfaction. In regards to the rapid decrease in output in period 12, Bramel writes that Roethlisberger and Dickson (1939) stated that the â€Å"workers were afraid that should their previous performance be maintained or improved in this period, rest pauses might never again be reinstated. † (Bramel, D. 1981). This is an example of a lack of communication between employer and employee, resulting in resistance from employees. Communication is a vital part of the organising management function; communication is the transfer of understanding and meaning (Robbins, 2012). In the case study, understanding was clearly not transferred between managers and employees as despite employees being reassured this was only temporary prior to the exercise, the workers still believed that management was â€Å"really interested in how to squeeze the most out of them, rather than in making their working conditions better for them. †(Bramel, D. 1981). The lack of understanding and meaning communicated between each party led to the reduced trust ultimately resulting in lowered total output. This is well summarised by Bramel â€Å"If the workers had in fact ad the kind of trust in management’s good intentions that Mayo claims, would they have found it necessary to resist the experimenters so actively in this period? The picture we get, instead, is of a group of rather wary workers engaged in a continuing skirmish with management and determined not to be taken advantage of. Rather than become a part of the company â€Å"team,† they became a team of their own, rather coolly looking out for their own economic interests in an adversary relationship with management. â€Å" (Bramel, D. 981). Bramel highlights the trust lacking in an â€Å"adversary relationship† with the worker’s management, who work as a team outside of the organisation’s best interests. (Bramel, D. 1981). The leading management function recognises that managers must be able to explain, predict and influence employee’s behaviour for success. Managers must be able to explain why employees engage in some behaviour, predict how employees will respond to various actions of the manager, and to influence how employees behave (Robbins, 2012). Job satisfaction is an employee attitude, which refers to an employee’s general attitude towards their job; employees with high levels of job satisfaction have positive attitudes towards their jobs. People’s behaviours, attitudes and actions are closely related. In the case of the Hawthorne Study, managers were unsuccessful in predicting how employees would respond to their actions and did not positively influence employee’s behaviour through their actions. Dissatisfied employees can result in workplace misbehaviour (Robbins, 2012). s witness in the case study where employees intentionally slowed down production to spite the managers. Poor job satisfaction as a result of indisposed working conditions and a poor leading management function contributed to the fall in productivity. Weak management of employees reduces motivation and employee contentment. During period 12 of the experiment, productivity dropped significantly as a result to the removal of resting periods for the workers. Bramel writes that evidence revealed four of the five workers actually slowed down, and it was apparent that it was intentional. The workers were quite consciously adopting a strategy in-tended to induce the experimenters to return quickly to the preferred conditions† (Bramel, D. 1981). The evidence is clear that there was a direct correlation between the decrease in output and fall in motivation for the workers and the removal of rest pauses, as the output increased significantly for all five workers with the return of the rest pauses (Bramel, D. 1981). Motivation is a key part of the leading management function. It is the process by which a person’s efforts are energised, directed and sustained towards attaining a goal. (Robbins, 2012). The manager must be supportive, they must, have mutual confidence and trust, help to maintain a good income, understanding of work problems and help in doing the job, genuine interest in personal problems. (Mullins, 2005). Managers must look to continually motivate and increase performance of employees through different processes such as; rewards for performance, recognition and appraisal, showing care and concern, and using attainable goals. (Robbins, 2012). A strong organisational culture can harness and set the foundation for the four key management functions; planning, organising, leading and controlling. A strong organisational culture provides shared values that ensure that everyone in the organisation is on the same track (Robbins, 1996). Organisational culture offers a shared system of meaning, which forms the basis of communication and mutual understanding (Funrham and Gunter, 1993). Strong organisational cultures are strong in the leading management function, as employees are motivated through values they share with their colleagues. Organisational culture complements rational managerial tools by playing an indirect role in influencing behaviour (Martins and Terblanche, 2003). Hence it being important for a strong culture to plan, organise, lead and control processes with the agreement, cooperation and enthusiasm of employees, in order to avoid resistance and hostility. It can be seen through the study of several articles that contemporary management functions are integral for successful management. Via the study of the Hawthorne Study, the theories proposed have illuminated how imperative the proper conduction of the management functions are for firms. A strong organisation culture provides the framework for managers to conduct the management functions by creating and sharing the values, which the functions will encompass through the firm. Contemporary management functions must be organising and leading via successful communication, understanding and motivation to be successful.