BP Seen takeover target after settlement as value trails Essay

BP Seen takeover target after settlement as value trails - Essay Example The company’s reserves are worth $ 7 a barrel while its rival Shell is worth $14. The company’s market value is the least compared with the other big four companies. The 50% sold accounted for about two third of the company’s oil production. The assets were in exchange of $12.3 billion cash and 12% stock in Rosneft, a Russian oil corporate. Rosneft is expected to also acquire the remaining 50% stock to assume full ownership. According to the London Business School, the selling of its assets, as well as, expensive settlements for suits related to the oils spill damages is equivalent to a takeover. The move, as well as, the oil spill tragedy, makes PB weak and its competitors including Royal Dutch Shell may bid for more stake. According the company’s Chief Executive, in an interview, the reduced company’s size may lead to a takeover attempt. The Chief Executive also unveiled the company’s expected short-term and long-term plans meant to spur gr owth. The plans include raising new projects’ margins and issuing back shareholders’ funds. The shareholders have also been rewarded by a 12.5 % increase in dividends paid in the 2012 third quarter. Additionally, due to the importance of the company to the United Kingdom, the government may oppose any move meant to bring a merge or acquisition. The company is one of the UK economy backbone employs a large proportion of the country’s population and earns the government huge revenues in terms of taxes. Among the company’s plans, there is a defense strategy following speculations that the company may be taken over. Many investors are interested in the company’s shares because of their low value. A takeover would be of benefit to the shareholders who would be able to recover some of their invested money. The company has liquidity problems, and the only option left of fighting for its survival in the market is through a takeover or selling of some of it s assets. However, selling some of the assets is may be a dangerous move as it may result to bankruptcy of the firm thus requiring it to dissolve. Additionally, it may be difficult to raise capital through debt securities, for example, bonds because of the risk associated with the company. The rate of interest would be significantly high since the financial institution would consider the risk. It would be of benefit to the new owner because of the valuable assets and human capital that the oil company holds. Since it would be an entirely different company, no new suits would be expected and, therefore, the new owner will easily turn the nearly collapsing company into a global profitable company. If the new trader would then stop the BP’s shares trading, immediately after the purchase, the market price would go up. Finn states that â€Å"the value of the stock would go up because of decrease in demand (131)†. Additionally, if the new owner would be another oil company, the benefits would be even more. The market share and dominance would go up. This in turn, would increase the company’s profitability and market value. A merger would also be of benefit to the current shareholders. Their stock in the company has declined significantly since the oil spill disaster. In addition, they have not been getting the returns that made them invest in the company. A merger will inject

Martin Luther and the German Reformation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Martin Luther and the German Reformation - Essay Example d Though both these extracts logically defy the papal authority and power, yet the â€Å"Address to German Nobility† is more sonorous in tone and diction, and sarcastically condemns the ways adopted and observed by the clergy, in comparison with the :Captivity of the Church.† e Since Luther witnessed the division of the Christian community into the clergy, the nobility and the peasantry, where the former two groups were exploiting the later, so declaring every Christian was extremely essential to eliminate class discrimination from the religion. (Answers): 2 a By justification, Luther simply means the criteria applied by the pope and priests to estimate the character and deeds of ordinary Christians, though Luther views it as entirely a private subject. b Luther symbolises belief with tree, and actions with fruit. He simply states that if belief is at right direction, then actions will also be accurate. However, the Church vehemently looks for good deeds to please the Lo rd, which is in contrast to the Lutheran teachings. c Luther has selected trees and fruits in order to explain the intention and action. He supports faith in comparison to acts, and views faith far more sublime than behaviour. Trees are symbol of origin, while fruit represents actions, so Luther applies these concepts to clarify his point. d Since explaining different things with the help of examples, symbols and signs is helpful in making things clear, Luther’s straightforward and logical description is certainly convincing. e Every religion has described some specific code of life to lead a pious life, and if we revolt against the religious laws by observing the behaviour of our own choice, it will harm and hurt others physically and sentimentally. Consequently, Luther’s good work notion will also endanger law and order situation. (Answers): 3 a Since Christians have taken oath of doing good with the fellow-beings, killing and hurting others comes under the definitio n of forfeiting one’s body and soul. b The ruler’s not tolerating the Gospel even means that even a ruler is going against the Biblical teachings; he should not be attacked, revolted or killed. c Luther views slandering of God’s holy name as the most obnoxious act, which has been turned down with greatest displeasure by him. d Luther preaches the subjects to be loyal and obedient to the rulers at any cast, as it is the essential element of Christ’s teachings. Similarly, the rulers should be kind and sympathetic to the people to please the Lord. Somehow, he lays stress on the subjects to remain complying to the commands and orders of the rulers. e The tone of these extracts appears to be sad, gloomy and distressing, as Luther condemns the desecration of churches and monasteries, as well as the burning and killing of the fellow-beings. TASK-II: The present paper aims to analyse two 20th century secondary sources related to Luther’s reformation moveme nt launched in Germany during the early years of 16th century. These include â€Å"Luther’s Teachings – Luther and the German Reformation 1517-1555† by Keith Randell (1989) and â€Å"Progress of Reform-The Protestant Reformation in Europe† by Andrew Johnston (1991). Both these sources are secondary in nature, where Randell’s article has been created for Catholic priests and religious circles only, while the

A reflective of The Pain Scale by Eula Biss Essay

A reflective of The Pain Scale by Eula Biss - Essay Example ea of establishing a measurement scale or a pain scale because she realize that there is really no such thing as absolute especially when it comes to pain. Bliss article was a wonderful literary excursion to articulate the nature of pain but she did not have to go such length had she just been keen with how people deal with pain and distress than study Dante’s Inferno in her quest to understand pain. Her synthesis also that it is virtually impossible to measure pain could not have been lengthy had she observed that pain is relative to people and its triggers are virtually countless. Being such, the examples that would show how relative is pain is abundant. We need not go further to cite examples. We can cite our study. There are students who would be devastated to get a failing or a lower grade while there are students who would just shrug it off and just try to study harder next time. There are people who are daunted by failure and are immensely distressed by it while there are people who take pain in stride and instead measure their true success from their ability to recover from failure. Biss associated pain to religion and to be specific, to Christian perspective of religion which for me is a limited attempt to establish a reference to understand pain. It is limited because pain is universal albeit how we feel it varies in degree and what causes it is relative and the yardstick she attempted to use are prejudiced. For example, Dante’s Inferno is a brilliant literary masterpiece as referenced in the article The Pain Scale but it cannot be inferred to in measuring pain as something universal that could cover every human being. For all we know, Dante’s Inferno is Christian in orientation because in it Prophet Muhammad was referred to as false prophet and therefore to be placed in the vortex of hell and to use to quantify the pain of Mohammedans or Muslims is quite offensive. God is also associated to the number zero and this must be the

Trusts Law. Non-Charitable Purpose Trusts Essay

Trusts Law. Non-Charitable Purpose Trusts - Essay Example Secular Society†2, Lord Parker was of the view that â€Å"benefit to individuals should be an essential ingredient of a trust or must be in that category of gifts which the courts identify as charitable.† In â€Å"Re Recher's Will Trusts†, Brightman J was of the view that as there is no beneficiary, a non-charitable trust is void. â€Å"Just as a rail requires an engine, so a trust requires a recipient†3. In â€Å"Astor's Settlement Trusts†, it was held by Roxburgh J that due to lack of a beneficiary, every non-charitable trust is void4 For a pure purpose, a private purpose trust (for instance, a trust to advance a cause) may be established where there will no single beneficiary to enjoy the benefits or for the advantages of an unquantifiable group of people (for instance, a trust to construct a playground for a school). A private, non-charitable purpose trust of the first type mentioned above will always be annulled, since it is not enforceable by a nybody. As opposed, a charitable trust is always a purpose trust and hence, enforceable and there will no problem in enforcing the same as the Attorney-General will have locus standi to litigate. 5. Though, there exists a general rule which appears to forbid purpose trusts in the non-charitable background, there are, some scenarios in which non-charitable purpose ? trusts have been endorsed in English law, and these can be detailed as follows: If confined to a perpetuity period, trusts for the prolongation of other non-charitable, religious ceremonies / rites may well be held valid. For instance, a gift for the recital of ceremonies namely Sin Chew (worship of ancestor) so as to disseminate the testator's reminiscence during the perpetuity period was upheld by the Supreme Court of the Straits Settlement in â€Å"Khoo Cheng Teow, Re†6.The House of Lords in â€Å"Bourne v Kean†e7 which viewed such trusts for the saying of masses as valid and clearly held it to be charita ble. This research essay will analyse in detail the validity of such non-charitable trust under English law and will recommend suitable amendments in English Trust laws to give legal sanctity to such non-charitable trust. Analyse Since the gift encourages an essential part of religion, namely, the saying of prayers, a gift for the saying of prayer of masses in public is held to be charitable. Though, saying cannot be established to beneficial to the mankind per se, but are supposed to offer an adequate element of public benefit. The prima facie hypothesis that is made is that prayers mentioned by a settlor in an inter viva or a will instrument are supposed to be said in public as held in â€Å"Re Caus†8. In â€Å"Re Hetherington†9 , and in this case, a testatrix by her will had bequeathed ? 2,000 for saying of â€Å" masses for the souls of her parents , sisters, husband and herself† It was held that trust was valid as it was for the advancement of religion10. T hough, in, it was held by Roxburgh J that due to lack of a beneficiary, every non-charitable trust is void but the English law has conventionally permitted four fundamental varieties of testamentary private purpose trust where it has been held that non-charitable trust even without beneficiaries can be held valid under the following scenarios. †¢ The upholding of specific animals; †¢ The building and preservation of private tombs, graves and monuments; †¢ The conducting other religious ceremony in private or saying of masses and †¢ The encouragement of fox-hunting Purpose trusts emanating in the

The dysfunctional family dynamics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

The dysfunctional family dynamics - Essay Example Tom’s authoritarian methodology of controlling his wife and children is akin to a command-and-conquer mentality much like that of a militant. His psychological maladjustment appears to be a direct result of self-esteem depletion that provides the foundation for his deviant and abusive behaviours. Tom’s inefficiency in farming does not provide adequate income or sustenance to the household which exacerbates the problem in their marriage and the rituals that occur in the family dynamic. Carrie maintains an uninvolved parenting style which is borne of her growing depression and anxiety caused by Tom, her miscarriages, and the financial situation that drives the current family dynamics. In relation to family dynamics and roles, in most well-adjusted households, children learn about appropriate behaviours through social role modelling under social learning theory. This states that children will learn from adult role models based on what is punished and what brings punishment (Neubert, Carlson, Kacmar, Roberts & Chonko, 2009). However, in order for this learning to be adopted, the role model must be a credible and attractive person in the eyes of the child (Neubert, et al.). This is compelling support for why each of the children maintain a unique method of coping with the abuse behaviours that they experience or witness vicariously as it is directed at Carrie. Tom does not represent a worthwhile role model and, due to the father’s controlling methodology and distorted values on autonomy, the children have a distant and uninvolved relationship with both parents. Tom’s refusal to allow the children to socialise with neighbours or school peers continue to degrade healthy adjustment, especially in the older children. â€Å"Peer acceptance and friendships are distinct constructs and contribute positively to youth development† (Brown & Lohr, 1987, p.48). Under Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and personality development, in ord er to find higher concepts for healthy adult adjustment, a sense of belonging needs to be established in the family or social environment (Gambrel & Cianci, 2003). Individuals in society need to feel that they have a certain level of control over their circumstances and receive recognition from others in order to build self-confidence (Gambrel & Cianci, 2003). Tom contributes highly to the depletion of self-confidence by removing elements of autonomous living and decision-making from both Carrie and the children. He serves as a catalyst for maladjusted youth behaviours and personality, such as that of Fiona who simply deserted the family in favour of receipt of these more important affiliation and belonging needs. A non-affiliatory environment dictates the level of relationship between family members and is borne of passive and uninvolved parenting style. Tom: Tom appears to have a low locus of control, which under this theory is a person’s belief that external parties have c ontrol over their destiny (Treven & Potocan, 2005). A more healthy and adjusted adult tends to have a higher locus of control, believing that through perseverance and internal motivations that their own destiny is controllable and manageable without blaming the external world. Tom exerts these characteristics of having a low locus of control with his animosity against those who hold college degrees (since he did not complete higher education) and with his admonishment of neighbours as being nosey or without value. Tom is using inferior coping mechanisms and defence mechanisms common to those with distorted perceptions of the world that directly impacts the family unit and individual mental health. Violence and Children: Violence

Communication and Conflict Chapter 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Communication and Conflict Chapter 6 - Essay Example Second principle is that each discrete emotion serves different functions; they help us organize perception, cognitions, and actions in order to pursue attempts to cope and create. In this regard, different emotions assist us in accomplishing different tasks in resolving conflicts. Third principle is that significant personal situations are those that trigger organized patterns of emotions. In short, emotions happen in an organized manner, with one emotion regulating other emotions. Emotions interact with each other in coherent ways; this is how persons can address their conflicts, even though conflicts are highly complex and may be confusing. Emotions create an orderly response to conflicts. Fourth principle is that people develop emotion-behavior patterns as children, and build on them as they grow and mature. For instance, the crying jags of toddlers adjust to more restrained behaviours as one grows older. The fifth principle is that individual personalities are built upon blocks of emotion-behaviour patterns, and lastly, emotions trigger difficult behaviour in response to certain triggers. One misconception about emotion is that it is a hindrance to resolving conflicts. For many people, emotions are thought to be irrational, uncontrollable, and will tend to escalate they remain unexpressed. The tendency therefore is for people (who believe that emotions are a hindrance) to ignore their emotions; emotions are seen as a negative thing, a sign of weakness, and should not be expressed at work. Emotional people are thought to be out of control, so it is important to try to justify feelings logically so that they could be put in control. Many times, the expression of emotions are thought to be a burden to the listeners, so our modern rational culture tells us not to express emotions, or to avoid those who do. Moreso even, mature, well-adjusted people are misconceived to be

Theories of Motivation Essay Example for Free

Theories of Motivation Essay How do these theories of motivation compare and contrast with ideas you read about management in Unit 1 or in MDA 3, e.g., how do they relate to Fordist and Taylorist approaches? Do they relate to these approaches? McGregor management theory involves the idea that there are two types of managers Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X managers assumes that the average human being has an inherit dislike of work and will avoid it if possible. Theory Y managers assumes employees can exercise self-direction, accept responsibility and consider work to be as natural as rest or play. I would consider that Taylor theories fall under theory X. Taylor’s belief that there is no question that the tendency of the average man is toward working slow that soldiering was a result of natural instinct and the value he placed on monetary motivation seems to conform to McGregors Theory X. However Taylor’s theory differs from Theory X in its belief that workers are not fulfilled solely with monetary rewards. With Herzbergs motivation-hygiene theory it classifies the factors needed to motivate people into two categories: hygiene factors and motivating factors, Herzbergs motivators idea corresponds with Maslows Esteem and Self-Actualization needs i.e. they both have the same criteria (recognition, growth, achievement etc).Both theories are influenced by environmental conditions, employee attitudes and as a result, their motivation. But Maslow says that each stage of the 5 must be fully or largely completed before advancing to the next stage however, Herzberg suggested that there were only 2 stages (hygiene and motivators) i nstead of 5. How do the ideas in the reading help you to think about your own management style and ways to manage people in your team or work group? Having reviewed the different theories it is easy to see that there are many different ways to motivate staff. I think motivation is important because even at the most basic level, it costs more to replace staff than to keep them. I also see that I need to use different styles of motivation depending on the member of staff I am dealing with. Staff liked to feel needed and respected and keeping them happy means theyll stay with you for much longer. Using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs I try to prioritize the needs of employees as a  person will want certain needs to be satisfied before others. The hierarchy of needs will help determine whats motivating an employee, and what needs to be addressed. Looking at Herzberg, I think a lot of the traditional benefits in terms of healthcare, cars and holidays, are much more hygiene factors. They are what people look for when they are making an assessment about the competitiveness of employment from one organization to another. In other words, employees might come to expect benefits that typically fit into a package and therefore may fail to be motivated after a time. What about your own motivations – do any of these ideas and approaches ring especially true in relation to your own experiences? I can probably relate to Herzbergs theory of motivation the most, factors such as company policy, supervision, interpersonal relations, working conditions, and salary are no longer motivators to me. The absence of these ‘hygiene factors’ may sometimes create job dissatisfaction, but their presence does not motivate me. In contrast, the motivators that are particularly strong determiners of job satisfaction for me are: achievement, recognition and the work itself. I need any new project to be a sufficient challenge to keep me motivated.