Scottish Surnames Meanings and Origins

Scottish Surnames Meanings and Origins Scottish surnames as we know them today - family names passed down intact from father to son to grandson - were first introduced into Scotland by the Normans about the year 1100. Such hereditary names were not universally prevalent and settled, however. The use of fixed Scottish surnames (last names that didnt change with each generation) wasnt really in prevalent use until the 16th century, and it was well into the late 18th century before surnames were common in the Highlands and northern isles. Origins of Scottish Surnames Surnames in Scotland generally developed from four major sources: Geographical or Local Surnames - These are names derived from the location of the homestead from which the first bearer and his family lived, and are generally the most common origin of Scottish surnames. Most of the earliest people in Scotland to adopt fixed surnames were the nobles and great landowners, who were often called by the land they possessed (e.g. William de Buchan from Buchan, Scotland). Eventually, even those who did not own significant land started to use place names to identify themselves from others of the same name, adopting the name of the village or even the street where the family originated. Tenants often took their name from the estate where they lived. Thus, most of the earliest surnames in Scotland were derived from place names. Topographic surnames derived from vague geographical locations rather than specific places, also fall into this category. These names may refer to physical features such as streams (Burns), moors (Muir) or forests (Wood) or to man-mad e structures, such as a castle or a mill (Milne). Occupational Surnames -   Many Scottish surnames developed from a persons job or trade. Three common Scottish surnames -   Smith (blacksmith), Stewart (steward) and Taylor (tailor) - are excellent examples of this. Offices associated with the kings lands and/or hunting are another common source of Scottish occupational names - names such as Woodward, Hunter,  and Forest.Descriptive Surnames -   Based on a unique quality or physical feature of the individual, these surnames often developed from nicknames or pet names. Most refer to an individuals appearance - color, complexion, or physical shape  - such as Campbell (from  caimbeul, meaning crooked mouth), Duff (Gaelic for dark) and Fairbain (beautiful child). A descriptive surname may also refer to an individuals personality or moral characteristics, such as Godard (good natured) and Hardie (bold or daring).Patronymic and Matronymic Surnames -   These are surnames derived from baptismal or Christian names to indicate family relationship or descent. Some baptismal or given names have become surnames without any change in form. Others added a prefix or an ending. The use of Mac and Mc was prevalent throughout Scotland, but especially in the Highlands, to indicate son of (e.g. Mackenzie, son of Coinneach/Kenneth). In lowland Scotland, the suffix ​-   son was more commonly added to the fathers given name to form a patronymic surname. These true patronymic surnames changed with each successive generation. Thus, Roberts son, John, might become known as John Robertson. Johns son, Mangus, would then be called Mangus Johnson, and so on. This true patronymic naming practice continued in most families until at least the fifteenth or sixteenth century before a family name was eventually adopted that passed down unchanged from father to son. Scottish Clan Names Scottish clans, from the Gaelic clann, meaning family, provided a formal structure for extended families of shared descent. Clans each identified with a geographical area, usually an ancestral castle, and were originally controlled by a Clan Chief, officially registered with the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms which controls heraldry and Coat of Arms registration in Scotland. Historically, a clan was made up of everyone who lived on the chiefs territory, people for which he was responsible and who, in turn, owed allegiance to the chief. Thus, not everyone in a clan was genetically related to one another, nor did all members of a clan bear a single surname. Scottish Surnames - Meanings Origins Anderson, Campbell, MacDonald, Scott, Smith, Stewart... Are you one of the millions of people sporting one of these top 100 common Scottish last names? If so, then youll want to check out our list of the most commonly occurring surnames in Scotland, including details on each names origin, meaning, and alternate spellings.   TOP 100 COMMON SCOTTISH SURNAMES THEIR MEANINGS 1. SMITH 51. RUSSELL 2. BROWN 52. MURPHY 3. WILSON 53. HUGHES 4. CAMPBELL 54. WRIGHT 5. STEWART 55. SUTHERLAND 6. ROBERTSON 56. GIBSON 7. THOMPSON 57. GORDON 8. ANDERSON 58. WOOD 9. REID 59. BURNS 10. MACDONALD 60. CRAIG 11. SCOTT 61. CUNNINGHAM 12. MURRAY 62. WILLIAMS 13. TAYLOR 63. MILNE 14. CLARK 64. JOHNSTONE 15. WALKER 65. STEVENSON 16. MITCHELL 66. MUIR 17. YOUNG 67. WILLIAMSON 18. ROSS 68. MUNRO 19. WATSON 69. MCKAY 20. GRAHAM 70. BRUCE 21. MCDONALD 71. MCKENZIE 22. HENDERSON 72. WHITE 23. PATERSON 73. MILLAR 24. MORRISON 74. DOUGLAS 25. MILLER 75. SINCLAIR 26. DAVIDSON 76. RITCHIE 27. GRAY 77. DOCHERTY 28. FRASER 78. FLEMING 29. MARTIN 79. MCMILLAN 30. KERR 80. WATT 31. HAMILTON 81. BOYLE 32. CAMERON 82. CRAWFORD 33. KELLY 83. MCGREGOR 34. JOHNSTON 84. JACKSON 35. DUNCAN 85. HILL 36. FERGUSON 86. SHAW 37. HUNTER 87. CHRISTIE 38. SIMPSON 88. KING 39. ALLAN 89. MOORE 40. BELL 90. MACLEAN 41. GRANT 91. AITKEN 42. MACKENZIE 92. LINDSAY 43. MCLEAN 93. CURRIE 44. MACLEOD 94. DICKSON 45. MACKAY 95. GREEN 46. JONES 96. MCLAUGHLIN 47. WALLACE 97. JAMIESON 48. BLACK 98. WHYTE 49. MARSHALL 99. MCINTOSH 50. KENNEDY 100. WARD Source: National Records of Scotland - Most Common Surnames, 2014

Creation of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Essay

Creation of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence - Essay Example In the 20th century intelligence agencies of United States of America were named among the best in the business. The performance of United States secret agencies was commendable throughout the Cold War era. After the fall of Soviet Union the world became Uni-polar and there was no significant threat that the country faced, at least from another country. But this illusion of total control and dominance over the world was shattered with the attacks of 9/11. It was something no one in the world was expecting and it forced United States to rethink its overall intelligence capability. The 9/11 attacks were a blow to the confidence of United States and it led to major restructuring of intelligence agencies. After 9/11 United States decided to make a new intelligence institution called the Office of Director of National Intelligence. In this essay the details of this agency will be discussed alongside with the details of its creation. A general overview of the intelligence agencies of the c ountry will also be given. The need for this separate institution will be discussed and future threats this office may be able to counter will be explained. History and General Overview of Intelligence Agencies of USA Intelligence agencies of United States of America have a long history. Since the creation of United States of America secretive agencies have a large role in the government operations. Founding fathers of America knew the importance of a secret agency that will protect the country from foreign and domestic threats. George Washington in his first Presidential State of the Union address requested Congress to establish a secret service fund for different secret activities (Central Intelligence Agency 2007). Since then secret agencies have conducted activities in foreign countries for the short and long term interest of United States. For a major part of 19th century Britain was a great danger for United States therefore most activities of secret agencies of United States were targeted against Britain. Agents were also sent in different colonial regions in order to extend the influence of United States and protect the interest of the country. In the early and middle of 19th century the aim of United States was to protect itself and gain power. The Civil War was the first big hurdle United States had to face after the war of 1812. The war endangered the sovereignty of the country. Secret spies also played a great role in the civil war on both sides (Central Intelligence Agency 2007). Propaganda schemes were followed by both the side and secret agents were used. After the Civil War United States of America realized that the country needed a formal intelligence organization that could protect the interest of the state domestically and internationally. Before this informal intelligence missions were carried out but as the country developed there was a need of a formal intelligence structure. In 1880s the first two formal intelligence agencies were made. The first was the Military Intelligence Division and the second was Office of Naval Intelligence (Central Intelligence Agency 2007). Over the period of time intelligence agencies became more organized and acquired superior skills. More divisions were made and covert operations continued in the first half of 20th century. In the First World War the efforts of US intelligence agencies were not very successful mainly due to the lack of funding. But before the Second World War, United States had developed a great system of intelligence gathering and many agencies were working in order to collect intelligence. The intelligence failure of Pearl Harbor was the greatest intelligence fail

Role of Mentor in Evaluating Student Learning Essay

Role of Mentor in Evaluating Student Learning - Essay Example NMC (2008) emphasizes that qualified mentors are equipped with certain qualities which helps them to facilitate learning and assess students in practice settings. Some of these qualities as defined by Kerry and Mayes (1995) are: role modelling; nurturing attribute; capable of enhancing professional competencies of mentee; and building constructive relationship not only as teacher, friend or counsellor but as one of carer that is sustained over a period of time. The mentors exert extensive influence on the learners and often act as role models for them. Consequently, the moral responsibilities of mentor are significantly more pronounced. Most importantly, in the era of fast globalization, ethical considerations and moral obligations become critical factors in healthcare industry and effective mentoring helps to inculcate and promote ethics within their profession. As per NMC (2008), mentoring involves eight major roles as: preceptor; assessor; clinical educator; clinical supervision; clinical supervisor; Practice teacher; registrant, supervisor. Preceptor primarily has basic minimum qualification of atleast twelve months’ experience in the desired area.UK government provides the facility of preceptors to all new nurses to help them to become dedicated registrants. While assessor is equipped with necessary skills to assess students’ competencies, Clinical educators, clinical supervision and clinical supervisor help the nursing students to enhance their skills in clinical setting through effective feedback. Waskett (2010) believes that it helps the students to become confident and acquire skills that improve their performance. The rest of the roles of mentor differ with different areas in healthcare and medical environment. Hawkins and Shohet (2006) assert that supervisors as mentors are important as they help

Education Important Factor In A Developing Country

Education Important Factor In A Developing Country For thousands of years, education has been an integral part of society. But is it the single most important factor in the development of a developing country? I believe education is of great significance instead of the most important factor. First and foremost, a complete education system provides large number of qualified people with advanced knowledges and skills in a wide range of subjects. Through attending various educational facilities, including but not limited high school, college and university, people can get themselves prepared for and contributed to the development of the country, which clearly requires the effort from all profession. For instance, if you want to be an architect, you go to university to learn basic knowledge in construction and designing, if you want to be doctor or nurse, you go to a medicine school to get familiar with all kinds of medicines and acquire some first-hand experience. In addition to talents cultivation, education in itself has tremendous influence on spirit civilization, which accounts for a large part in a countrys development. As a place where knowledge handed down and wisdom passed around, school represent the homeland of scholars like Socrates and Confucius, who had huge impact on the promotion of spirit civilization, and the birthplace of innovative ideas like democracy. Whats more, the improving of education involves many constructions of schools and universities which have positive effect on local economy. For instance, the university i attended, expand a new campus in the countryside area in Nanjing. With more and more students came to spend their four or even more years in here, the local economy was tremendously accelerated, restaurants, cafes, hotels, bookstores and supermarkets mushroomed in few years. On the other hand however, it would be rash to make the assertion that education is the single most important Education is the single most important factor in the development of a developing   For thousands of years, education has been an integral part of society. But is it the single most important factor in the development of a developing country? I believe education is of great significance instead of the most important factor. First and foremost, a complete education system provides large number of qualified people with advanced knowledges and skills in a wide range of subjects. Through attending various educational facilities, including but not limited high school, college and university, people can get themselves prepared for and contributed to the development of the country, which clearly requires the effort from all profession. For instance, if you want to be an architect, you go to university to learn basic knowledge in construction and designing, if you want to be doctor or nurse, you go to a medicine school to get familiar with all kinds of medicines and acquire some first-hand experience. In addition to talents cultivation, education in itself has tremendous influence on spirit civilization, which accounts for a large part in a countrys development. As a place where knowledge handed down and wisdom passed around, school represent the homeland of scholars like Socrates and Confucius, who had huge impact on the promotion of spirit civilization, and the birthplace of innovative ideas like democracy. Whats more, the improving of education involves many constructions of schools and universities which have positive effect on local economy. For instance, the university i attended, expand a new campus in the countryside area in Nanjing. With more and more students came to spend their four or even more years in here, the local economy was tremendously accelerated, restaurants, cafes, hotels, bookstores and supermarkets mushroomed in few years. On the other hand however, it would be rash to make the assertion that education is the single most important factor in the development of a developing country, because other factors plays a no less or even greater role in the progress of a country. Economy, for instance, directly influences the national power of a country and the well-being of its citizens. All in all, the development of a developing country can not be determined solely, it includes the promotion of many aspects such as education, economy, politics and army force.   For thousands of years, education has been an integral part of society(,) but is it the single most important factor in the development of a developing country? I believe education is of great significance instead of the most important factor. First and foremost, a complete education system provides large numberS of qualified people with advanced knowledges and skills in a wide range of subjects. Through attending various educational facilities, including but not limited TO high school, college and university, people can get themselves prepared for(,) and contributed to(,) the development of the country, which clearly requires the effort from all professionS. For instance, if you want to be an architect, you go to university to learn basic knowledge in construction and designing, BUT if you want to be A doctor or A nurse, you go to a medicine school to get familiar with all kinds of medicines and acquire some first-hand experience. In addition to talents cultivation, education in itself has tremendous influence on spirit civilization which accounts for a large part in a countrys development. As a place where knowledge IS handed down and wisdom passed around, school represent the homeland of scholars like Socrates and Confucius, BOTH OF whoM had A huge impact on the promotion of spirit civilization, and the birthplace of innovative ideas like democracy. Whats more,  The improving of education involves many constructions of schools and universities which have positive effectS on THE local economy. For instance, the university (I) attended, expandED a new campus inTO the countryside area in Nanjing. With more and more students COMING to spend their four or even more years in here, the local economy was tremendously accelerated, restaurants, cafes, hotels, bookstores and supermarkets mushroomed in ONLY A few years. On the other hand however, it would be rash to make the assertion that education is the single most important factor in the development of a developing country, because other factors plays a no less or even greater role in the progress of a country. Economy, for instance, directly influences the national power of a country(,) and the well-being of its citizens. All in all, the development of a developing country (cannot) be determined solely BY ITS EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS, it includes the promotion of many aspects(,) such aseducation,  economy, politics and ITS ARMED FORCES.   :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Well, you have four paragraphs and an introduction plus a conclusion, so it is longer than it need be. Relax and forget about the outcome of the test. Take your time to jot down two or three good ideas before you start writing, and then write only about them and nothing else. Include them all in your conclusion. In developing country, the most important thing is the way how to develop in firm foundations. And one of the firm foundations is education. This essay will discuss why education is the single most important factor in the development of a developing country. Firstly, in the life, people can live without education but education is the fast way helping people improve knowledges and experiences.Basic education provides people with a greater understanding of basic daily informations about life as well as of their own potential. A country with a strong education system can more definitely develop in the future.In developing country, improving citizens learning is very important because their attitude towards a question can influence on development of country.It is necessary to invest in education is because children will be laborer in future. If they work without education, this could be wasting a lot of resources and lead their country to go down. Secondly, in all countries especially developing countries, the way to develop is do own self. Developing education means the own way to develop country.Theres a famous saying If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day, if you teach the man to fish you feed him for a lifetime.In some countries, the government invests a big part of the profits in weapons but its really waste time and money. The long investment is in education.With a good education system, people can study easily, they can overtake the newest technology then they apply in their life. To sum up,education factor in developing country is very important.Developing education is the most needful.Its a firm foundation for most countries especially developing country. I posted it in dethi.com and now, I post it again in here.I hope people can help me.Thanks Today, having a good education is really important for people. So that, most people apply a lot of tecniques which help them their work and school. Education is the single most important factor in the development of a country. Countries need a lot of things for their future because educated people are good at many things, such as communication and also to know how to improve themselves. First of all ,being good at communicating which has some advantages for people is very urgent for todays life .It brings people a lot of feasibility and success. For example, at work people get on well and behave eachother suitable. They find possibility and become successful .But if they dont do these ,they can lose many things .In addition to this, they may be hopeless and destroy their future. For these reason, people can have a good communication thanks to only education .To sum up, having good education opens people new door in their work and give them many things for their life. Another issue in the development country is that people know how to advance themselves during their all lives. For instance, educated people improve themselves during their all lives. They learn many things and in the future when they face with some problems ,they know how to deal easily, because they read or saw previous anywhere these problems .As a result, improving themselves about a lot of things is very significant for people. In the light of the above-mentioned reasons ,a country cannot develop without the education which requires an essential communication and improving themselves .In my opinion ,the education includes the most things that advance to the country.

Talent Shows – Dream Or Nightmare?

Talent shows are fun to watch, but are they actually fun to be a part of? I think it is very entertaining to watch talent shows, never the less the auditions, but I would never participate in one myself. I think it crosses a lot of my limits to get up in front of everyone in Denmark. If we take starting-point in singing talent shows, many of the young people that join the show, can't even sing. The problem here has probably something to do with, that the parents to the child think that everything their little angel does is fantastic.And therefore the young person with absolutely no talent at all, is totally laughed at in front of the whole country. The dream of being the next big star is cool, but when you become a star through a talent show, you will always be remembered as â€Å"Julie from x-factor† or something like that. If I ever wanted to become a famous singer, I would rather get there on my own then get there through a show.If we, as an example, look at Miley Cyrus, wh o plays Hannah Montana on Disney channel, she wants to be a big actress and singer, but when we think of her or we want to explain who she is, it is and will probably always be â€Å"the girl who plays Hannah†. I once read about this in a magazine, that Miley is tired of being Hannah and wants to be Miley, the girl who can sing and act. She has tried a lot of things to get rid of this reputation, such as being in movies that are for teenagers and not kids.She has also made several CDs, with music she writes herself. And if we look at someone from the Danish x-factor, we all know Sarah, the girl who won x-factor 2 years ago. Last year i played a handball game against her, and every time someone recognized her they would yell, â€Å"Hey, it's Sarah from x-factor† So this is something you have to live with, if you participate in a talent show. So with these things in the back of my head, I will elaborate on why I would never participate in this kind of shows.The first rea son is that I don't like to display myself in front of the whole country, not because I can't sing, I just don't feel the need to show everybody my singing talents. When I sing I usually am alone or together with people i am close to, Everybody doesn't need to hear me sing. Another reason is that I think these kind of shows often make people who once were nice and kind, to total snobs, because of the publicity. They don't have time for their old friends, and they start to only wear branded goods.This isn't good because a lot of the people in a talent program are just a flash in the pan, and when the show is over their friends at home have moved on. The last reason is the thing about being the girl from the talent show. If I ever, at some point in my life, want to be a celebrity, I want to become it and achieve the publicity on my own. I don't want to be part of a show and always be known as a â€Å"show-person†, and not known for my own music or just for being me! Therefore I would say that talent shows are a NIGHTMARE.

English as Essay – Homosexuality in Vernon God Little

Explore Pierre’s presentation of ideas concerning homosexuality and teenagers in Vernon God Little. In the novel, ‘Vernon God Little’ by DCB Pierre we see the presentation of teenage life and also homosexuality through the characters of Vernon Little and Jesus Navarro. As the book was published eight years prior to us reading it, the views Pierre presents could be different to our own. Also, Pierre’s age and up bringing add to the way he portrays different aspects of life. I believe that in ‘Vernon God Little’ Pierre presents teenagers as rude, bad mannered and impatient and homosexuals in a negative light.We are introduced to Vernon’s character whilst he is in prison. Pierre’s lexis tells us straight away that Vernon is a teenager as ‘Don’t even try to guess who stood all Tuesday night in the road. Clue: snotty ole Mrs. Lechuga’ page 1. The colloquial language creates a sense of childishness, which is enhanced by the insults describing Mrs. Lechuga. The word ‘ole’ suggests that Vernon believes everyone to be old in contrast to him. This is shown throughout the novel as Pierre repeats the insult.Also, Pierre’s use of the colon represents how Vernon did not wait for an answer, but instead carries on his trail of thought, pointing towards an impatient nature which is associated with teenagers. This technique is shown again on the same page when Vernon is thinking back to ‘that ole black guy who was in the news last winter’ page 1. This story is also used to show Vernon’s discomfort in his current situation. Pierre cleverly uses the story so Vernon can avoid talking about his own situation, as if ignoring it will make it disappear.This can be linked with Jesus’ philosophical question to Vernon at the end of chapter two ‘that if things don’t happen unless you see them happening. ’ page 18. This signifies teenage attitude as th ey are both trying to shift the guilt and the blame- Jesus with the massacre he commits and Vernon with the fact he is wrongly in prison. Another essential moment to show teenage attitude is when Vernon is contemplating whether or not to phone Taylor. To decide a conclusion he flips a coin ‘it comes down heads which means I call her in Houston immediately. page 154. Pierre uses this technique to show the reader how Vernon is trying to shift any pressure he can as he is finding it hard to deal with being on the run and the death of his school mates. Furthermore, at the end of chapter one, suspicions begin to arise about Vernon’s sexuality ‘Regular boy then, are you son? Like your cars, and your guns? And your-girls? ’ page 10. Pierre’s choice of the word ‘regular’ shows the reader that the Martirio society is not accepting of homosexuals.This is supported by the homophobic attacks that people have had to suffer for years. In the past thre e years, one in five gay people have been subjected to homophobic hate crime (found http://www. guardian. co. uk/society/2008/jun/26/equality. gayrights) . Pierre also uses rhetorical questions here and does not give Vernon time to answer any questions except the one about girls. This suggests the idea that the interviewer was only interested in Vernon’s sexuality. This accusation adds strain to Vernon’s character as he is trying to be a ‘regular’ teenager.Vernon also keeps changing his middle name throughout the novel; this shows that he is having trouble accepting himself and also the situation that he is in. The way the name constantly changes is a metaphor for how society and Vernon’s situation keeps changing. For example, on page 2 Pierre calls him ‘Vernon Genius Little’. In context we see that Vernon mocks himself here which enhances the struggle for identity and how he is being punished for being different. Subsequently, we are a ble to see that Pierre uses his characters to question homosexuality, but he never has them ask about sexuality straight out.Instead they avoid the subject which is a reflection of society’s reaction towards homosexuality in 2003 – when the novel was published. A good example of this is when Vernon is being interviewed on page 10 ‘Examine Little’s clothes did you? ’ ‘Undergarments? ’ Pierre is also able to portray the communities view on homosexuality through the character of Barry Gurie. At the end of chapter six, Gurie is questioning Vernon and starts teasing him about Jesus and his pending sexuality – ‘You aint tossin the ham javelin all night long, thinkin of your meskin boy? Grr-hrr-hrr’ Page 60.Pierre’s use of vulgar imagery illustrates how the community feels towards homosexuality. The potential rejection adds to Vernon’s struggle for identity. The laughter at the end of the line indicates the pe ople in the community do not take homosexuality or teenagers seriously and think of them as things to laugh at. In the second chapter, Pierre introduces Jesus Navarro during a flashback of Vernon’s. The first accusation of his sexuality is how ‘they found him wearing silk panties’ page 16. This is very effeminate and leads reader to question his sexuality.Pierre also tells us how Jesus’ father instantly denies that his son wore the lingerie by choice- ‘his ole man says the cops planted them on him’ Page 16. The way Pierre mentions Mr. Navarro’s outrage at the underwear but not the loss of his son or the massacre could also symbolise how the community finds fault in Jesus as a person without paying respect to his life. It is symbolic of how people instantly find fault in others. Chapter two also subtly points out how Jesus was being sexually abused by Marion Nuckles and Dr. Goosens- ‘Nuckles recommended his to a shrink. Jesus got w orse after that. Page 17. Pierre’s use of a short sentence creates a sense of worry. It allows the reader to understand that Vernon was worried about Jesus without having to vocalise it. This relates back to Vernon’s pride and how teens are perceived as not caring and shouldn’t talk about their feelings. The allegations of Jesus’ abuse are confirmed at the end of the novel in the form of his suicide note-‘you sed it was love you batsards’ Page 275. The wrong spellings suggest that Jesus was uneducated which is a stereotype of those from other cultures forced to learn our own culture.Also the use of the word ‘bastards’ means a child born out of wedlock and Pierre used it here as it symbolises the bad relationships shared between Jesus and the elder men. The note is important to the plot as it seals that fate of Nuckles and Goosens. It shows that the police are able to prosecute Nuckles and Goosens. In conclusion, I feel that Pierr e perceives homosexuality in a bad light. This is because the three characters that were openly homosexual – Jesus, Nuckles and Goosens – do not get the stereotypical ‘happy ever after’ like the other characters.This could show that society’s prejudice views can manipulate people’s minds and force them to go to extreme lengths. He also presents teenagers in both good and bad ways which indicates that not every teenager is the same and Pierre could not pin point a single action which defined every single person. this is because teenagers are misunderstood by other people and Pierre wanted to reflect that in his writing. Bibliography: Pierre, DBC, Vernon God Little, 2003 FF Faber AQA Exploring Literature AS and A Level http://www. guardian. co. uk/society/2008/jun/26/equality. gayrights 1205 words

Maximizing Shareholders Wealth As A Primary Corporate Objective Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2306 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Shareholders wealth is basically the value of shareholders ownership of shares in a firm at a particular period of time. Shareholders wealth is measured by two major financial concepts, namely: by capital gain increase, which results from an increase in the prices of shares or by increase in dividend payments. Consequently, maximizing the capital gains or dividend payments of a firm can maximize shareholders wealth. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Maximizing Shareholders Wealth As A Primary Corporate Objective Finance Essay" essay for you Create order Notwithstanding, an optimal level needs to be maintained, as a firm needs to balance the risk and return involved in growing its capital gains or dividend payments arising from the firms investing activities. On the other hand, managing the firm requires engaging on purposeful business activities on the part of top management staff members and members of the board of directors. In turn, all purposeful business activities are aligned with corporate goals and objectives. Parsons (1960) have argued that the firm, as a legal corporate entity, is a collectivity whose defining characteristic is the realization of a specific goal or purpose. On this premise, it is therefore evident that it would not be sensible enough to believe that a discussion on corporate entities would be complete without an unequivocal mentioning of the normative and positive scopes of the corporate objectives of the firm let alone the structure and processes of its governance. Therefore, questions that often arise in clude: Who should the firm serve? Who does it serve? The debate on corporate purpose is by no means a relatively new concept in the financial literature, however, there have been varying levels of considerations from the different fields of studies (ranging from management and business strategy to law and ethics) on the issues of purposes and accountability of a corporation, and sharply differing views still exist. In finance, the debate is established on the notion of shareholders value maximization (and in economics, an equivalent notion arises as the maximization of private wealth in a competitive economy). The notion of shareholders value maximization has been widely and generally accepted in the financial world, and has formed part of very strong assertions in the financial literatures and textbooks. A deviation from this corporate objective is typically thrown in the light of an agency problem, which results from the debate on the separation of ownership and control, whi ch is an immediate integral feature of the modern corporate financial practice. Berle and Means (1932) emphasized on the problems of managerial carefulness and self-dealing when handling issues that pertain to the preservation of shareholders wealth under the regime of the principle of separation of ownership and control, as a major issue that characterizes the widely held belief about corporations. Based on assumptions of property rights in democratic capitalist societies, Berle and Means (1932) premised their arguments on the view that managing the firms business activities on behalf of the shareholders was the prerequisite of managerial decision-making, since shareholders were property owners. In Brealey and Meyers (2000: 24-26), for instance, the assertion that ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦a financial manager should act in the interest of the firms owners stockholdersÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦ is not an accident. Like every human, each stockholder (or shareholder) d esires to be as rich as possible, and craving for the need to be able to seamlessly transform that wealth generated from investing in the firm into whatever time pattern of consumption of his or her choice, and choosing the risk characteristics of the consumption plan. In situations where the firms management fails to collaborate with the shareholders on their interests in the firm, it amounts to an intervention by the firms corporate board; or by verbal articulation, whereby shareholders can call for a meeting to replace the corporate board; or by exit, a situation whereby shareholders dispose their stake in the firm selling off shareholders stakes in a firm can send a powerful signal to the firms entire system and its immediate environment; or by a collective shareholders decision to remove top management members through the market system for corporate control. Notwithstanding, it should be noted that in the situation whereby managers and directors do not maximize their value of (or stake in) a firm, it usually results to the threat of a hostile takeover by competitors. Rappaport (1986) has provided a more simplified assertion on how shareholders wealth creation should be viewed in relation to a firms corporate objectives. Therein, it was held that any management that contravenes the objective of maximizing shareholders value, no matter how influential or independent, does so at its own risk. This can be taken seriously since shareholders make up the most power reference point within a corporate organization where managements financial power is derived. In contrast to the finance view, in recent years, scholars in the management and strategy discipline have increasingly leaned towards one of two overlapping viewpoints that are sharply at contrast with the financial view of shareholders value maximization. One of the viewpoints is that governance should be understood using a stakeholders lens. The second viewpoint pursuits that rather than debating whe ther stakeholders or shareholders matter, corporate organizations should have multiple goals existing in a convoluted hierarchy (Freeman and McVea, 2001; and Quinn, 1980). Similarly, Drucker (2001) argued that Shareholder sovereignty is bound to struggle; ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦it is a fair weather model that works well only in times of prosperity (Drucker, 2001:17). On this note a constructive conclusion can be drawn. Following the importance of preserving shareholders wealth while ensuring good governance, it is therefore imperative that top management of the firm should strike a balance amongst the three scopes (or objective functions) of the corporate organization, which involve regarding the corporation: as an economic organization, whose aim is to maximize profit (or returns on investment); as a human organization, which should form a seamless relationship with other human organizations within its immediate environment, and without the fear of domination of one on the other; and as an increasingly important social organization that cares and prides itself about corporate social responsibility to the immediate community to which it belongs and/or operates from. The Role of the Efficient Market Hypothesis in the Post-Financial Crisis Period The sharp economic slump in the financial markets around the globe, typically and generally referred to as the global financial crisis, has generated a remarkable spate of blames on the active market players (banks and other financial institutions as well as consumers, surprisingly) from different economic stakeholders the free market economics has been attacked vigorously. Particular attention has been paid on the notion of the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) an idea that supports that competitive financial market should exploit all available market information when setting security prices. EMH asserts that the financial market is informationally efficient. In other words, given the publicly available market information at the time of making an investment, one cannot achieve returns in excess of average market returns on the risk-adjusted basis consistently. Since the wake of the recent financial crisis many people have called for careful scrutiny, revamped criticism and ev aluation of the EM hypothesis. In fact, the crisis has urged many to conclude that the excessive negligence in the proper regulation and supervision of the financial market activities due to the immensely mistaken belief in the supremacy of the thought behind the EMH, gave rise to the current financial crisis. For instance, Jeremy Grantham popularly referred to as the market strategist has stated, without reservation, that EMH is responsible for the global financial crisis that currently rocks the world financial markets. In his claims, he believes that the general acceptance of the idea behind EM hypothesis led financiers to have a habitual underestimation of the underlining dangers surrounding the breaking of asset bubbles. Justin Fox, the Myth of the Rational Market, as he is fondly called, appears to support the same claim made by Jeremy. Ray Ball wrote: ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦swayed by the notion that market prices reflect all available information, investors and regul ators felt too little need to look into and verify the true values of publicly traded securities, and so failed to detect an asset price bubbleÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦ The following excerpt was also taken from Ball (2009: 11) (cited from the UKs Turner Review): The predominant assumption behind financial market regulation-in the US, the UK and increasingly across the world-has been that financial markets are capable of being both efficient and rational and that a key goal of financial market regulation is to remove the impediments which might produce inefficient and illiquid marketsÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦. In the face of the worst financial crisis for a century, however, the assumptions of efficient market theory have been subject to increasingly effective criticism. Others who also believe that the EMH is not unconnected with failure of the financial system include the financial journalist, Roger Lowenstein who stated that: The upside of the current Great Rec ession is that it could drive a stake through the heart of the academic nostrum known as the efficient-market hypothesis. The chief economics commentator of the financial times, Martin Wolf, has dismissed the EM hypothesis on the premise that the hypothesis is a useless way of carrying out a careful examination of the functionality of the market. Nevertheless, Paul McCulley, the MD of PIMCO, said that the hypothesis did not fail but was seriously flawed in neglecting human behaviour. According to Ball (2009:11), the depiction of what the EMH portrays in the mind of regulators makes sense in one respect. Stating that regulators can focus well enough in ensuring an adequate flow of reliable information to the public where, however, the market can be relied upon in incorporating public information into asset prices, while less attention is paid on investors propensity to invest even in the riskiest assets without fear of losing the lots. This view is, however, consistent with the fa ct that in recent times there does appear to have been increased emphasis on ensuring adequate and fair public disclosure by regulatory and supervisory bodies worldwide. However, the notable Robert R. McCormick Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and grand proponent of the EM hypothesis, Eugene Fema has refuted the above claims but stated that: the hypothesis held up well during the crisis and that the markets were a casualty of the recession, not the cause of it. Ball (2009:2) says: I have argued in the past and will argue below that the EMH like all good theories has major limitations, even though it continues to be the source of important and enduring insights. Despite the theorys undoubted limitations, the claim that it is responsible for the current worldwide crisis seems wildly exaggerated. If the EMH is responsible for asset bubbles, one wonders how bubbles could have happened before the words efficient market was first set in print and that was not until 1965, in an article by Eugene FamaÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦ ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦ But all of these episodes occurred well before the advent of the EMH and modern financial economic theory ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦ Its only the idea of market efficiency that is relatively new to the scene. After all said and done, one would like to know what awaits the EM hypothesis in the post-financial crisis era. As the saying goes: you do not throw away the baby with the bath-water. There is need to relax and critically evaluate the entirety of the EM hypothesis in relationship to what it can help achieve in the market and the limit inherent in its application in ascertaining how the market behaves. It is overtly true that anomalies in the market efficiency hypothesis abound. These include over-reactions of prices and excess volatility; under-reactions of prices and momentum, especially with respect to earnings annou ncements; the relation between future returns and many variables such as accounting accruals, market-to-book ratios, price-earnings ratios, market capitalization, and dividend yields; and seasonal patterns in returns. One should therefore expect that while not entirely relying on the EM hypothesis in assessing market activities, the hypothesis would still be expected to hold sway. This is consistent with the results of Aroskar, et al (2004) and Kan and Andreosso-OCallaghan (2007). Furthermore, market regulators are rather expected to carry out proper regulatory functions irrespective of the presence or absence of the market hypothesis. A Reflective Statement After a critical discussion of these sorts (first, it was the discussion on: the adoption of maximizing shareholders wealth as a primary corporate objective, which was then followed closely by a discussion on: the role of the efficient market hypothesis in the post-financial crisis period) one would wonder at the efficacy of what could be achieve with such a short piece. Anyway, it is not the length alone that matters when crucial issues like the ones discussed in this piece are considered. While length may be important, what matters the most is the depth of what has been discussed. Going back, two schools of thoughts were covered in the first section, namely: those that believe that the adoption of maximizing shareholders wealth should form a core part of the corporate objectives of any corporate organization, and those who believe that corporate governance should be discharged under the watchful eyes of the stakeholders while having an organization that is built around a compl ex hierarchy of a collection of goals. One would then like to take a stance between these two schools. Notwithstanding, there is sense in both thoughts; however, a deep look and critical evaluation of both thoughts may likely reveal a common ground. Therefore, one should not be tempted in judging the supremacy of one school over the other. Now with the discussion on the EM hypothesis in relation to its role in the financial market after the crisis, it should be proper to evaluate its worthiness just like every theory ever propagated was evaluated. Like Ray Ball had said one could not blame a theory for people misusing it, as every theory comes as an abstraction no theory can be taken in its raw and literal form.